Former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner is dodging subpoenas, not returning phone calls and physically avoiding state officials who want to question her.
So in some ways, it’s like she never left office.
And because of futile attempts over several months to reach Gardner — a search that has been unable to even confidently determine where she is living — a top state official held a news conference Monday in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Stopping just short of handing out milk cartons bearing Gardner’s photo, Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick asked:
“Have you seen Kim Gardner? Do you know where she is?â€
Fitzpatrick said the time now has come for Gardner to address what “appears to be inappropriate expenditures and mismanagement†that auditors have uncovered.
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He said his office wants to wrap up the audit that began in 2021, laid mostly dormant for more than a year and then was rebooted when he took office in January 2023.
Should Gardner persist in being a no-show for questioning, Fitzpatrick said, the audit will be wrapped up and released before the end of 2024 — regardless of whether Gardner decides to participate.
Fitzpatrick said the quest has involved dozens of phone calls to Gardner; contacting attorneys who used to represent her or who are now doing so; reaching out to former colleagues and co-workers; and checking known addresses and places of employment.
To be sure, Gardner sightings are regular rumors that run around the courthouse with a Carmen Sandiego-like quality. Some have her at one of several hospitals in the area — not so far-fetched given she attended nursing school while she was circuit attorney.
Others have her living somewhere in South Carolina, possibly near Clemson University, where her husband coaches track.
Fitzpatrick did not dismiss the possibility that Gardner might be “willing to leave the state and never return as an effective way to avoid answering questions.â€
But in an appeal to Gardner’s conscience, Fitzpatrick said, “It’s not too late to do the right thing.â€
Then again, this would not be the first time Gardner has gummed up governmental works. (Please note, one ºüÀêÊÓƵ circuit judge called her office “a rudderless ship of chaos.â€)
In early 2023, Fitzpatrick’s auditors tried to obtain records from Gardner, who would not allow auditors to enter her office.
It also was reported at the time that auditors were forced to engage in a constant back-and-forth with Gardner’s lawyers, who either refused to turn over records or, when they did turn them over, had heavily redacted pertinent information.
So in March 2023, Fitzpatrick subpoenaed documents that included bank and credit card statements. Gardner’s office did not respond, and Fitzpatrick planned to go to court to enforce the subpoenas.
But on the same day Fitzpatrick planned to add the additional heat, May 16, Gardner abruptly resigned.
That past action might complicate Fitzpatrick’s hope that Gardner will feel obligated to come forward to assist in any way with the completion of the audit — given that her abrupt resignation managed to make a bad situation worse.
The Post-Dispatch reported then that Gardner’s move “throws into further chaos a city courts system that’s already bending under the weight of a staffing exodus, organizational dysfunction, a leadership vacuum and a backlog of several thousand cases.â€
Fitzpatrick gave credit to current Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, Gardner’s successor, for allowing auditors to come on site and have access to the necessary records.
Ultimately, Fitzpatrick urged anyone with knowledge of Gardner’s whereabouts to call his office’s “whistleblower†line at 800-347-8597.