St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner attended a rally Saturday to confirm she will not resign amid what she calls “a witch hunt.”
“I ain’t leaving. I ain’t resigning,” the George Soros-backed Gardner said during a round table discussion on youth and violence at Central Baptist Church. “I ain’t doing nothing. You gonna have to remove me.”
Gardner made the unusual move to speak publicly, claiming she would be brief because she knew there were members of the media that “want to capture every word I’m saying so they can use this as a sound bite for criminal contempt or a vehicle to try and take me out of office.” The second-term circuit attorney also accused the media of trying to silence her.
KIM GARDNER: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SOROS-BACKED ATTORNEY WHO COULD BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE
“What you’re seeing is a witch hunt,” Gardner said.
Gardner has faced a series of accusations that she has failed to do her job. She found herself in trouble again earlier this month when her team failed to appear at a murder trial. Judge Scott Millikan, who is overseeing the trial of Jonathan Jones, an 18-year-old accused of shooting a man in 2021, filed a motion declaring Gardner was in contempt of court for her failure to appear.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey gave Gardner the opportunity to resign back in February, but when she refused to do so filed a quo warranto, the legal action allowing him to remove a prosecutor under state law, on Feb. 23. The filing included evidence from the very beginning of Gardner’s first term of absences in court, hiring a suspended lawyer, and mandatory non-disclosure agreements in her office among other things.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Gardner’s quo warranto hearing was held on April 18 to protesters in favor of the circuit attorney. She is up for reelection in 2024.
