Kim Gardner will relinquish her authority and power as St. Louis Circuit Attorney on June 1, but Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is vowing to continue his lawsuit against her until then, according to media reports.
“We're glad because we think what she did to this office needs to be exposed,” said Byron Keelin, Byron president of Freedom Principle MO, a Missouri-first pro-citizen group. “She's allegedly resigning on June 1st, but she still needs to be held accountable. Did she falsify records by going into class and saying that she was on the job?”
The political pressure for Gardner to resign intensified in February after Daniel Riley, a motorist involved in a car crash that injured 17-year-old Janae Edmondson, was not imprisoned.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that Bailey is gathering information about the outgoing prosecutor attending St. Louis University where she is allegedly pursuing nursing classes.
“Did she misuse state or city funds for her personal expenses,” Keelin asked.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, Bailey filed a Quo Warranto petition in St. Louis City Circuit Court requesting a preliminary order immediately removing Gardner from her position as the city's top prosecutor.
“I think that's ridiculous that the Attorney General is continuing this lawsuit against her,” said Mike Gras, a St. Louis attorney and Alderman. “Bailey wants to get his name in the paper every way he can and he was probably annoyed she stepped down because this isn't really about what's best for the city for him. I think it's just he wanted the win and wanted the credit, and he feels like her stepping down robbed him of that.”
Gras has plans to campaign to replace Gardner but has not yet announced his candidacy.
“I don't really know why Kim Gardner is staying until June 1st,” he said. “There might be a charitable explanation, which I hope is right, that she is giving the governor time to make an appointment so that there's continuity involved. If that’s the reason, then great. It’s valid.”
In a statement released online last week, Bailey said there is no reason for Gardner to remain in office until June 1.
"We remain undeterred with our legal quest to forcibly remove her from office," he stated. "Every day she remains puts the City of St. Louis in more danger. How many victims will there be between now and June 1? How many defendants will have their constitutional rights violated? How many cases will continue to go unprosecuted?"