The St. Louis prosecutor responsible for the charges filed against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple who made headlines when they brandished weapons to protect their home from protesters, reportedly failed to disclose vacations she had taken that were paid for by activist groups, as required by law.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner took several trips that she failed to disclose, including travel to Portugal, Houston, Selma, and New Haven, an investigation by KMOV4 found.
“When something isn’t reported, the public has a right to ask, ‘Well, why wasn’t it?’” said Patrick Ishmael of the Show-Me Institute, a Missouri think tank. “Elected officials have an obligation to be transparent, and that’s especially true related to their duty because the public wants to know their officials are working for the interest and not someone else’s.”
Every elected official in St. Louis is required by law to disclose travel no matter if it was funded by public or private dollars. Missouri also has statewide laws that require disclosures in some cases. Gardner reportedly did not disclose any trips in 2018 or 2019 despite taking trips funded by a liberal organization called Fair and Just Prosecution, which has lauded her decision to prosecute the McCloskeys after they brandished and pointed weapons at protesters who broke into their private neighborhood last month.
Gardner did disclose trips funded by Fair and Just Prosecution in 2017, including visits to New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Philadelphia, according to documents obtained by a public information request.
Sources from the city said that Gardner’s travel was problematic for the office because she was often unreachable while traveling.
Gardner’s office acknowledged that she had traveled with Fair and Just Prosecution but denied that she made any prosecutorial decisions because of the partnership.
“Since shortly after her election, Circuit Attorney Gardner has been an active member in Fair and Just Prosecution’s network of progressive prosecutors. She was invited to participate because of her beliefs, values, and goals. Those goals are in line with FJP’s priorities and the same as policies the Circuit Attorney has promised to deliver for St. Louis since day one. The suggestion that there is any quid pro quo involved here is patently absurd,” her office said in a statement.
Her office said that the relationships built between other prosecutors who attended Fair and Just Prosecution’s events helped her better serve the city. The office said that Gardner would not apologize for not disclosing her travel because it is a “veiled attempt to disparage” the attorney.
“Her work with FJP has benefitted the office and, by extension, the people of St. Louis,” her office said. “Circuit Attorney Gardner refuses to apologize for seeking [reasonable] opportunities to further her knowledge and access prosecutors from throughout the nation for best practice. The suggestion that she would be persuaded to follow an alternative that is not focused on addressing the root causes of crime for a few plane tickets and hotel rooms is insulting.”
