When last we left disgraced former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, she'd gone missing — at least according to the Missouri Auditor's office. As RedState reported in May, Gardner was in the crosshairs of an investigation over misuse of funds, and officials were seeking to serve her with a subpoena in connection with that but were having difficulty locating her.
That, of course, followed Gardner's rather ignominious tenure as the city's top prosecutor, which ended when she was forced to resign amidst numerous legal battles. I won't belabor the laundry list of grievances the people of St. Louis and the surrounding metro area could detail about Gardner — you can read up on many of them here, if so inclined. I will simply note that since her departure from the office in May of 2024, the Circuit Attorney's office is in the news a good deal less, and every report I hear via lawyerly circles as to her successor, Gabe Gore, indicates he's doing a fine job in the role — a vast improvement over Gardner.
Frankly, I hadn't thought all that much about Gardner until I happened upon this little news nugget just a few moments ago: Gardner has now admitted to the misuse of public funds and entered a diversionary program in U.S. District Court.
Per the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri:
ST. LOUIS – Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner has admitted misusing public funds and entered a pretrial diversion program in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
As part of the agreement, Gardner admitted directing her employees to issue a series of checks totaling $5,004.33 from the Contingent Fund Account in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to reimburse her for paying the fees and costs assessed against her personally by the Missouri Supreme Court in its August 30, 2022, Disciplinary Order, Case Number SC99645. The Supreme Court reprimanded Gardner and found that she had violated ethical rules during her office’s prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. By Missouri statute, the Contingent Fund is only to be used to pay such expenses as necessary for the proper and vigorous prosecution of the duties of the Circuit Attorney’s Office. The diverted funds “were deposited in her personal bank account and used for her personal expenses unrelated to her job duties and the operations of the Circuit Attorney’s Office. Kimberly Gardner was not entitled under the law to that additional compensation,” the diversion agreement says.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction in the case because the City of St. Louis receives federal program funds in excess of $10,000 annually and because Gardner admitted misusing more than $5,000 in public funds.
The agreement defers prosecution for a period of 18 months, during which time Gardner must avoid violating any laws, report to a pretrial services officer and follow the instructions of that pretrial services officer. She is also required to repay the diverted funds to the Circuit Attorney’s Office as restitution.
Got that? While serving as the top prosecutor for the city, Gardner had her employees issue reimbursement checks to her to cover fees and costs she was personally obligated to pay pursuant to the Missouri Supreme Court's order reprimanding her for ethical violations. She...committed an ethical (and legal) violation...to pay for committing an ethical violation.
Well, no one ever accused Kim Gardner of being a rocket surgeon.
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