Seven people who served on a special grand jury that indicted an investigator in an invasion of privacy case against former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens have written a letter urging a disciplinary panel to take “stronger” action against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The letter was
sent to St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison, asking him to forward it to the three-person disciplinary panel that presided over Gardner’s ethics hearing last month. The letter writers were part of a grand jury that spent months investigating and indicting former FBI agent William Don Tisaby in 2019. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in March and received probation.
“During our eight months of special grand jury service, our investigation resulted in the indictment of an individual who was very closely associated with Ms. Gardner,” the letter said. “Our work exposed us to activity and behaviors in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office that we considered disturbing and unethical. What we observed was not inadvertent nor inconsequential but was calculated deceit and/or outright incompetence; neither of which is acceptable behavior for a person holding this public office.” The letter went on to call Gardner’s conduct in the Greitens case “reprehensible.” At last month’s ethics hearing, Missouri’s chief disciplinary counsel announced a “joint stipulation” that recommended a reprimand for Gardner for her failures to maintain and disclose evidence in the Greitens case. The deal still needs the approval of the disciplinary panel and the Missouri Supreme Court. Allison Hawk, spokeswoman for Gardner, said, “The St. Louis Circuit Attorney has cooperated fully from the outset. We appreciate that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel conducted a fair and thorough process, and we expect the stipulation agreed to by all parties will soon become final.”
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