St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner faces disciplinary proceedings over an ethics complaint filed against her, according to a case list posted on a state website.
Gardner’s 2016 campaign accepted $190,750.73 from Super PACs (Political Action Committees), funded in part by liberal billionaire George Soros, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The particular allegations have not been mentioned.
Gardner’s office released a statement in response:
“As the Circuit Attorney has repeatedly proven time after time, she has acted in full accordance with the law during the investigation into former Governor (Eric) Greitens,” Gardner’s office wrote.
“Despite several investigations attempting to uncover illegal wrongdoing by her office in this case, none has ever been found. We are confident that a full review of the facts will show that the Circuit Attorney has not violated the ethical standards of the State of Missouri,” the statement added.
KMOV4 reported that Gardner “herself could be subject to the criminal investigation, but sources tell News 4 that the statute of limitations for any charges on Gardner passed in March this year.”
If the case involves Greitens, which is likely, it may become important for another reason.
Greitens is now running to become a U.S. Senator for Missouri in 2022.
Greitens made the announcement in March after Republican Sen. Roy Blunt announced he will not seek reelection.
The former Missouri governor has slowly returned to the spotlight following a scandal that led to his resignation in 2018.
Problems began following a report of an extramarital affair with his hairdresser in 2015 before he was elected.
KMBC reported that a month later, “a grand jury indicted Greitens for invasion of privacy, accusing him of taking a compromising photo of the woman and threatening to use it as blackmail if she ever spoke of the encounter.”
When the GOP-led state Legislature began investigating whether to pursue impeachment proceedings, Greitens resigned in June 2018.
