ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Friday issued subpoenas to St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Comptroller Darlene Green for documents of their communications regarding St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner over the past several years.
The subpoenas come as part of Bailey's ongoing case against Gardner as he tries to remove her from office amid the political fallout over a high-profile case.
Bailey's subpoena to the mayor requested all communications she has had with Gardner and concerning Gardner between Jan. 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023.
His subpoena to the comptroller similarly requested all communications in that same timeframe with Gardner, with Gardner's office and concerning Gardner, as well as documents of payments to attorneys made on behalf of Gardner's office.
Jones and Green were given until March 13 at 9 a.m. to produce the documents.
Last week, Bailey filed a "petition quo warranto" against Gardner after she did not respond to his ultimatum for her to resign. On Monday, Judge John Torbitzky told Gardner she has two weeks to respond to the allegations made against her by the attorney general. Bailey filed another motion setting a deposition date for Gardner on April 14.
Gardner's office has come under increasing scrutiny over its handling of cases after a teenage volleyball player was critically injured by a crash caused by a suspect who was supposed to be on house arrest. Gardner has taken a defensive stance amid accusations that failures in her office kept the crash suspect out on bond, maintaining that her office was not negligent, and accusing a judge of denying her office's requests to keep him behind bars.
Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced Thursday that he had issued a subpoena to Gardner and her office as part of an ongoing audit of the city, claiming her office had failed to meet several deadlines for document request.
Below is the full wording of what Bailey requested in the subpoenas:
ATTACHMENT A-THE HONORABLE TISHAURA JONES, MAYOR
Instructions
If the records responsive to the below-listed requests are kept in the normal course of business of the Mayor's Office and your custodian of records can attest to the record-keeping practice of the Mayor's Office, please execute a business records affidavit. If responsive records to this subpoena are privileged, please segregate those records and create a privilege log.
Requests
- All text messages, emails, voicemails, notes, records, and other communications between yourself and Kimberly Gardner, sent, created, generated, or received, between January 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023, including such items on your personal devices and government-issued devices.
- All text messages, emails, voicemails, notes, records, and other communications about or concerning Kimberly Gardner, sent, created, generated, or received, between January 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023, including such items on your personal devices and government-issued devices.
ATTACHMENT A- THE HON. DARLENE GREEN, COMPTROLLER
Instructions
If the records responsive to the below-listed requests are kept in the normal course of business of the Comptroller's Office and your custodian of records can attest to the record-keeping practice of the Comptroller's Office, please execute a business records affidavit. If responsive records to this subpoena are privileged, please segregate those records and create a privilege log.
Requests
- All text messages, emails, voicemails, notes, records, and other communications between yourself and Kimberly Gardner, sent, created, generated, or received, between January 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023, including such items on your personal devices and government-issued devices.
- All text messages, emails, voicemails, notes, records, and other communications between your office and the Circuit Attorney's Office, sent, created, generated, or received, between January 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023, including such items on your personal devices and government-issued devices.
- All text messages, emails, voicemails, notes, records, and other communications about or concerning Kimberly Gardner, sent, created, generated, or received, between January 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023, including such items on your personal devices and government-issued devices.
- All documents reflecting payments to Brown, Goldstein, & Levy LLP; Dentons US LLP; Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP; Spencer Fane LLP; and/or Shaffer Lombardo Shurin made on behalf of the Circuit Attorney's Office between January 1, 2017 and March 2, 2023. Include copies or corresponding bills, invoices, and requests for payments from the above firms and related requests from the Circuit Attorney's Office.
