Missouri Justice and Public Safety PAC is a left-of-center PAC that was created in 2020 and spent $116,000 on the re-election campaign of St. Louis City Circuit Attorney, Kim Gardner.¹  The organization is the Missouri branch of the vast “Safety and Justice” network, a project of left-leaning billionaire George Soros that used a network of similarly named state-level PACs to finance the campaigns of progressive Democratic candidates for district attorney in more than a dozen of America’s cities.²

Funding

In July 2020, Missouri Justice and Public Safety received one $116,000 contribution from George Soros, 100 percent of its funding for the year.³

Controversies

While Missouri Justice and Public Safety has stayed out of the public eye, the group’s backed candidate, Kim Gardener, has been plagued by controversies since assuming office.

In December 2020, Gardner was removed from the case prosecuting homeowner Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who were charged for brandishing firearms on their porch at Black Lives Matter protesters who had broken into the McCloskey’s gated community.⁴ Gardner was taken off the case because she referenced the case in campaign fundraising emails she sent to her constituents for political gain.⁵ Gardner also faced criticism for releasing 34 of the 36 individuals arrested during the riots on charges from assault to property damage.⁶

In May 2021, it was reported that an ethics investigation had been launched into Gardner’s past handling of the prosecution of former Republican Governor Eric Greitens, and that Gardner was facing a disciplinary hearing that could result in her law license being revoked.⁷ Back in 2018 Greitens’ attorney’s allege that Gardner allowed a private investigator, who was later charged with six counts of perjury, to commit perjury and falsify a report that Gardner failed to correct on the record.⁸ The debacle resulted in Gardner being called to testify under oath, and the charges against former Governor Greitens being dropped.⁹

1. Smith, Velta. Campaign Finance Reports. Missouri Ethics Commission . Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.mec.mo.gov/CampaignFinanceReports/Generator.aspx?Keys=B2G41dEVPKgI8cDcdGFsgJsm99XwPL2G%2BzVtofLhTLWS1DdGFQHJ5RnNLi29cSyYMgMu1pnnBbHabA4WXYGS%2BJPwDQzLw6VB.
2. Simonson, Joseph. “Soros Reshapes Prosecutor Landscape with Crucial Victories.” Colorado Springs Gazette, December 25, 2020. https://gazette.com/opinion/column-soros-reshapes-prosecutor-landscape-with-crucial-victories/article_21672cf8-4485-11eb-be39-e7482dd0a96b.html.
3. “Campaign Finance Forms.” Missouri Ethics Commission. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.mec.mo.gov/CampaignFinanceReports/Generator.aspx?Keys=B2G41dEVPKgI8cDcdGFsgJsm99XwPL2GzySwAAGege9XxsWhtP%2bVuhsgFiMB7rLkYW5xXcPizbloUn4dmCUs2o0Zaj4%2b3GNh.
4. Romo, Vanessa. “St. Louis Prosecutor Taken Off Case Of Couple Who Brandished Guns At BLM Protesters.” NPR, December 11, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/11/945288119/prosecutor-removed-in-case-involving-couple-who-brandished-guns-at-blm-protester.
5. “St. Louis Prosecutor Loses Bid to Stay on McCloskey Case.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, April 6, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/gun-politics-st-louis-michael-brown-courts-dca0e00abdd6af793766215b92c5a226.
6. Simonson, Joseph. “Soros Reshapes Prosecutor Landscape with Crucial Victories.” Colorado Springs Gazette, December 25, 2020. https://gazette.com/opinion/column-soros-reshapes-prosecutor-landscape-with-crucial-victories/article_21672cf8-4485-11eb-be39-e7482dd0a96b.html.
7. Wallace, Danielle. “St. Louis Prosecutor Kim Gardner to Face Disciplinary Hearing, Law License in Jeopardy over Greitens Complaint.” Fox News. FOX News Network, May 5, 2021. https://www.foxnews.com/us/st-louis-attorney-kim-gardner-greitens-discipline-ethics-hearing.
8. Wallace, Danielle. “St. Louis Prosecutor Kim Gardner to Face Disciplinary Hearing, Law License in Jeopardy over Greitens Complaint.” Fox News. FOX News Network, May 5, 2021. https://www.foxnews.com/us/st-louis-attorney-kim-gardner-greitens-discipline-ethics-hearing.
9. Wallace, Danielle. “St. Louis Prosecutor Kim Gardner to Face Disciplinary Hearing, Law License in Jeopardy over Greitens Complaint.” Fox News. FOX News Network, May 5, 2021. https://www.foxnews.com/us/st-louis-attorney-kim-gardner-greitens-discipline-ethics-hearing.