Judge rules St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner must fulfill open records request

[PeteS in CA]

Judge rules St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner must fulfill open records request

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/judge-rules-st-louis-prosecutor-kim-gardner-must

A prosecutor in St. Louis, Missouri, has been ordered by a district judge to release several years' worth of public documents following a yearlong fight to obtain those records through a state sunshine law request.

The sunshine request, brought by Just the News founder John Solomon, was presented to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardener last July. The query sought the release of roughly two and a half years' worth of communications between Gardner, her staff, and numerous individuals such as George Soros, the Missouri Workforce Housing Association, state Representatives Stacy Newman and Jay Barnes, and others.

Gardner first ignored the request and then claimed that the requested documents were exempt from the state's sunshine provision.

I did not find anything about the purpose of this FOIA request, but it sounds like Gardner may have had some personnel doing election-related stuff, or maybe there was some favors-trading between Gardner's office and activists, other pols, and maybe campaign funds sources.

[PeteS in CA]

Looks like Solomon is investigating whether outsiders had input into the (partly) failed attack on Gov. Greitens:

Judge rules St. Louis prosecutor must release records in bungled prosecution of ex-governor

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/judge-rules-st-louis-prosecutor-kim-gardner-must

A judge has ordered the chief prosecutor for St. Louis to release records from the bungled prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens following a yearlong fight to obtain those records through a state sunshine law request.

The sunshine request, brought by Just the News founder John Solomon, was presented to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardener last July. The query sought the release of roughly two and a half years' worth of communications between Gardner, her staff, and numerous individuals such as George Soros, the Missouri Workforce Housing Association, state Representatives Stacy Newman and Jay Barnes, and others.

[PeteS in CA]

An update:

Judge blasts Soros-funded St. Louis prosecutor, says 'recklessly impeded' open records case

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/solomon-records-request-default-judgement-against-st-louis-circuit-attorney

A Missouri judge refused Wednesday to set aside a default judgement against St. Louis' chief prosecutor, ruling her office improperly thwarted an open-records lawsuit from Just the News seeking evidence from the bungled 2018 prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

"The Court finds that Defendant's conduct in this case has recklessly impeded the judicial process," Judge Christopher McGraugh of the Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court concluded.

The judge ordered St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner's office to produce records in the Greitens case to him to review for possible release to the news organization, and to compile a complete list that identifies all responsive documents and an explanation why prosecutors wanted to keep the information from Just the News.

He also denied Just the News' motion to hold the Circuit Attorney in civil contempt for failing obey an earlier court order to supply records under Missouri's Sunshine Law.

[mountaineer]

Soros cleverly turned to funding candidates for county prosecutor and secretary of state throughout the country. St. Louis is bigly screwed. Both St. Louis City and County have leftist Soros hacks in office, and neither is inclined to prosecute actual crime.