Supreme Court ordered on Friday that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner comply with a public records request from Just the News Editor-in-Chief John Solomon regarding the prosecution of former Gov. Eric Greitens.Solomon filed a public records request in July 2019 under Missouri's Sunshine Law for about two and a half years' worth of communications between Gardner's office and the Missouri Workforce Housing Association, state Representatives Stacy Newman and Jay Barnes, along with several other groups and individuals.
Gardner is one of the first big-city district attorneys bankrolled by liberal megadonor Soros.
The public records request sought documents related to Gardner's fizzled 2018 prosecution of Greitens, who resigned from the governorship less than two years into his term.
The prosecutor accused Greitens of felony invasion of privacy for allegedly threatening to release a photo of his partially nude girlfriend if she talked about their affair. However,
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Gardner had to drop the case after admitting she lacked the alleged photo and facing the prospect of being called as a witness in the case by Greteins' lawyers.
Initially, Gardner ignored the public records request and then claimed that the documents did not fall under the state's Sunshine Law. Solomon's suit alleged that Gardner's refusal was a knowing violation of the law and sought release of the records, civil penalties and attorneys' fees.
The state Supreme Court refused to hear Gardner's final appeal on Thursday. On Friday, the court sent the case back to trial court, while ordering that her office produce the requested records within 30 days. The court also ordered that Solomon be paid attorney's fees and costs for the appeal.
| Update from Breitbart at 10:20 a.m. courtesy of Skidmark: |
Just the News editor John Solomon filed a public records request under Missouri law in 2019 seeking communications records between Gardner’s office and Soros, the Soros Fund Management, and Soros’ Open Society Foundation in connection with Gardner’s prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) in 2018.
In addition to Soros and his groups, the request sought communications records between Gardner and the Missouri Workforce Housing Association, two state representatives, and several other individuals and groups.
Friday’s order comes just days before Gardner is scheduled to have a disciplinary hearing, after Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel accused her of professional misconduct and concealing evidence in her investigation into Greitens. Gardner could potentially lose her license to practice law in Missouri if the ethics violations charges are sustained at Monday’s hearing.
Gardner launched a politically charged investigation into Greitens in 2018 after the former governor was accused of having an affair and blackmailing the woman with compromising photos while in office. Instead of having the St. Louis Police Department investigate these allegations, Gardner hired former FBI agent William Tisaby to conduct the investigation.
Last month, Tisaby pled guilty to evidence tampering and was sentenced to probation after facing six felony counts of perjury and one count of evidence tampering in connection with the Greitens investigation.
Gardner dropped an invasion of privacy charge against Greitens after a judge determined she would have to testify under oath as part of the case.
Greitens was forced to resign as governor during Gardner’s investigation and announced March of 2021 he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2022.
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