A judge in St. Louis has kicked George Soros-backed St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner off the prosecution of Mark McCloskey because she used the case in fundraising emails.
Mark and his wife, Patricia, were charged with two felonies, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence, after they emerged on their porch with a pistol and an AR-15 to confront Black Lives Matter protesters on their private property in June. They have pleaded not guilty.
Garnder sent two fundraising emails in which she mentioned the case. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday:
Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II’s order said two fundraising emails that Gardner’s reelection campaign sent in response to political attacks before and after she charged Mark and Patricia McCloskey with felony gun crimes in July raised the appearance that she “initiated a criminal prosecution for political purposes.”
“Like a needle pulling thread, she links the defendant and his conduct to her critics,” Clark wrote. “These emails are tailored to use the June 28 incident to solicit money by positioning her against defendant and her more vocal critics.”
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[The McCloskeys] sought to disqualify Gardner from the case, arguing that she exploited their case for political gain when her campaign mentioned them in fundraising emails weeks before the Democratic primary in August.
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State law directs the St. Louis Circuit Court’s presiding judge to appoint another prosecutor in the case, the order says. Patricia McCloskey’s case is assigned to Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer, who will replace Circuit Judge Rex Burlison as St. Louis’ presiding judge next year.
Patricia McCloskey’s attorney will reportedly ask the court to remove Gardner from her case for the same reason.
Gardner tweeted Thursday that she would be reviewing the court’s order and evaluating “options.”
Statement from Circuit Attorney Office, City of St. Louis
Today the media reported on a judge’s ruling on the Mark McCloskey case prior to any official notification. We will review the court order and determine our options. pic.twitter.com/drVK9EjJI1
— Circuit Attorney (@stlcao) December 10, 2020
Gardner received nearly $200,000 in the 2016 election from the Soros-backed Safety & Justice Committee, and received $116,000 from the Soros-backed Missouri Justice and Public Safety PAC in the 2020 election.
Soros has funded left-wing prosecutors across the country, including Kim Foxx in Chicago and George Gascón in Los Angeles.
The McCloskeys spoke on behalf of President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention in August.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
