ST. LOUIS — Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said he will continue an ongoing audit of former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and the office despite her abrupt resignation earlier this week.
Fitzpatrick also claimed that Gardner chose to resign on Tuesday knowing it was the day his office was prepared to enforce a records subpoena in court.
"One way or another, Kim Gardner will have to answer for her time as Circuit Attorney," Fitzpatrick said in a Thursday statement, accusing her of making numerous attempts to ignore and delay the release of requested records. "Her sudden resignation doesn't negate the duty my office has to make sure the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office is transparent and accountable."
Gardner's office had faced mounting pressure in recent months, including contempt of court hearings, staff attorney resignations and the handling of high-profile cases.
Fitzpatrick issued a subpoena to Gardner and her office in early March after he claimed her office failed to meet "multiple deadlines for document request."
The subpoenaed documents include bank and credit card statements, policy guidelines and other expenditure information, the release said. The state auditor's office said it originally requested the documents on Jan. 23 with a deadline of Feb. 14.
Gardner's office provided the following statement the day the subpoena was issued:
"The CAO has cooperated with all requests from the auditor. Today’s subpoena was a surprise, however, our office is committed to comply with all requests related to its audit of the office."
The state auditor's office has been auditing St. Louis for the past four years at the request of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. The office said it has released more than 20 reports in the process of the audit and expects to finish the audit this year.
"Kim Gardner has repeatedly stood in the way of our efforts to complete the audit that was requested by the Board of Aldermen and the people of St. Louis," Fitzpatrick said. "Before she resigned from office we were prepared to petition the court to enforce a subpoena that was first issued over two and a half months ago to obtain the documents we need to complete our work. She knew we were prepared to enforce the subpoena in court on May 16 and chose to resign on that exact day.
"Even with her decision to step away earlier than expected, we have a duty to the people of St. Louis to complete our assessment of the performance of the Circuity Attorney's Office. We're hopeful the new circuit attorney will work in good faith with us to ensure we can finish the audit without further delay."
Fitzpatrick added that if the new circuit attorney doesn't have access to needed records, his office is prepared to take "any and all steps necessary, including additional subpoenas and petitions in court, to obtain the needed documents from Kim Gardner directly."
This comes after two high-profile cases involving Gardner were dropped this week following her resignation.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's office on Wednesday filed a voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the quo warranto case seeking to remove her from office.
Gardner's legal team had filed a request for dismissal shortly after her abrupt resignation on Tuesday, arguing that the case is now moot. Bailey's team agreed at a hearing on the same that the case was now likely moot, saying they would likely not be opposed to the motion to dismiss.
A contempt of court case against Gardner was also dropped following her resignation, with a special prosecuting attorney saying the case "no longer serves the interest of justice" because Gardner and her former assistant prosecutor no longer work in the circuit attorney's office.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will announce his appointment to replace Gardner during a press conference at 11 a.m. Friday. In the meantime, Parson has appointed his general counsel Evan Rodriguez as acting interim St. Louis Circuit Attorney.