(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) One attorney abruptly resigned from her job at the office of an embattled Soros-backed prosecutor, citing a “completely untenable” load of cases and a “toxic work environment.”
Natalia Ogurkiewic, 27, announced her immediate resignation weeks prior her scheduled departure, delivering yet another blow to St. Louis’s Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, a Democrat and former Missouri lawmaker. The St. Louis-based attorney joined Gardner’s office in 2020 where she prosecuted murders and other violent felonies. She was scheduled to leave the prosecutor’s office at the end of April but announced her immediate resignation last week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Saturday.
“As a St. Louis City resident, I have lost trust in Kim Gardner from the inside,” Ogurkiewic decried in her resignation letter. “I do not believe that her leadership can stop the metaphorical or physical ballistics from continuing to fly through our city.”
Gardner, who assumed office in 2017, gained the financial support of George Soros, a leftist billionaire mega-donor for both her 2016 and 2020 campaigns, Fox News reported.
Ogurkiewicz called out the Soros-backed prosecutor for disrupting the office’s relationship with local law enforcement, directly exonerating Gardner’s deputy from any wrongdoing. “In my view, the ongoing political and ideological conflict between the police department has obliterated the necessary teamwork and relationship for an agreed upon system to exist,” she said. “I do not attribute this to Christopher Hinckley, who has been a dedicated leader, teacher, and mentor.”
“I will not work for a leader who makes public statements outright calling her attorneys ‘negligent’ and implying their incompetence,” Ogurkiewicz continued. “I feel like leading with integrity looks like standing by and supporting staff through all difficulties, not herding them like sheep to a media frenzy slaughter.”
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the matter, citing internal policy.
Gardner’s controversies directly contradict Soros’s claims that his bankrolled prosecutors are “popular” and “effective” in an infamous Wall Street Journal op-ed headlined “Why I Support Reform Prosecutors.”
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Circuit Attorney’s office had a more than 100 percent turnover rate for attorneys. This high turnover led to the shedding of “hundreds of years of experience,” resulting in serious criminal cases getting represented by attorneys who had little experience.
A local judge sanctioned Gardner for releasing the suspect of a double-homicide case on bond and allegedly hiding evidence from the judge.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, began legal proceedings to remove the Soros-backed prosecutor from office, citing the her negligence in prosecuting and enforcing the city’s laws.
“Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them,” Bailey said in a statement. “My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office.”
Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Republican, said Gardner should resign, calling her “incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office.” Similarly, Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher also urged Gardner to step down.
A hearing is scheduled for next week as part of the state AG’s removal effort.
