Soros-funded prosecutor’s sudden exit causes unprecedented situation in Missouri AG’s office.

Missouri Prosecutor Abruptly Resigns Ahead of Hearing

Kimberly M. Gardner Leaves Office Immediately

Missouri prosecutor Kimberly M. Gardner has resigned from her position as the City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney, effective immediately. This comes just hours before a hearing exploring her official conduct was set to take place. Gardner had previously announced her intention to resign on June 1, 2023, but her resignation letter expressly stated that she would be leaving her position on that date. Despite this, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey continued his attempt to persuade a judge to oust her from office, citing Gardner’s potential to change her mind and remain in office beyond the stated departure date.

Unprecedented Situation Leaves City Without Prosecutor

Gardner’s immediate departure has left the city without a prosecutor, which Bailey’s office was informed of less than two hours before the hearing. The situation was described as “very evolving and fluid” by Deputy Attorney General William Corrigan during a live broadcast of the hearing on KSDK-TV in St. Louis. Bailey has sent Corrigan and his team to immediately receive referrals from police and start the process of clearing the backlog of cases until the Governor appoints the newest Circuit Attorney.

Replacement Sought

Prior to Gardner’s departure, Governor Mike Parson received 18 applications from people interested in fulfilling the circuit attorney’s role. Gardner had been working with St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell to ensure a “smooth transition of all cases,” but no further comment will be made “until the transition is firmly in place and discussed with the courts,” according to a tweet from her office.

Controversy Surrounds Gardner’s Tenure

Gardner’s departure comes amid controversy surrounding her tenure as Circuit Attorney. Bailey has stated that her office has been understaffed and demoralized for some time, while Gardner has complained that her office was underfunded in an attempt to sabotage her. Gardner is also among dozens of American prosecutors who reportedly received financial support from billionaire George Soros, which has led to allegations that Soros-backed prosecutors allow criminals to go unpunished, fostering lawlessness.

Gardner Claims Targeted by Outside Forces

In her resignation letter, Gardner claimed that she had been targeted by people outside of the city since the time she took office, as the first black female prosecutor in the state. She wrote that she was the victim of “a coordinated, long-standing strategy to undermine me and my efforts to make the City of St. Louis safer and fairer.” Gardner also stated that she had experienced attacks on her reforms, judgment, integrity, prosecutorial discretion, and responsibility to direct the limited resources of her office.

Court Records Reveal Additional Controversy

Court records have also revealed that Gardner had been enrolled in nursing classes since 2021, despite her duties requiring full-time work under the law. On April 27, when Gardner faced a contempt-of-court hearing for her office’s failure to show up for a criminal case, she was inside the Family Care Health Center in St. Louis. Instead of attending the hearing, Gardner sent her lawyer and a representative from her office. An investigator from Bailey’s office reported seeing a city-owned vehicle, issued to Gardner, parked at the center, and witnessed her getting into the car and driving away. During the hearing, Judge Michael Noble called Gardner’s office “a rudderless ship of chaos” and advanced an accusation of “indirect criminal contempt” against her.