Last week, seven grand jurors from the indictment of investigator William Tisaby wrote an unprecedented letter to St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison, requesting that the Missouri attorney disciplinary panel take “stronger” action against St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner.
To understand how fully out-of-line these grand jurors were, let’s start with examining the grand jury system and how it was designed to work.
A grand jury is convened when a prosecuting attorney either does not have enough evidence to criminally charge a defendant and wants a group of the defendant’s peers to review that evidence, or as we see more often than not in St. Louis a prosecuting attorney wants to avoid a politically-harmful charging decision. Grand juries recently have been called for the Cure Violence interrupter accused by federal prosecutors of destroying evidence; two men accused of planning and committing a 2016 murder (a controversial case for which Gardner’s office has sought both the death penalty and special prosecutors); and the man connected to two MetroBus shootings in December.
County Executive candidate and Steve Stenger lackey Jane Dueker has received tens of thousands of donations from her ex-boss’s donors since our last column, including a $30,000 donation from Commercial Development Company, Inc…
Part of an elected prosecutor’s job is to make challenging decisions on who to criminally charge and when. But often times, we see prosecuting attorneys abuse and take advantage of the system which, in turn, allows them to evade accountability and transparency.
Prior to beginning the six-month service, all grand jurors in Missouri must swear an oath, including “the counsel of your state, your fellows and your own, you shall truly keep secret,” and “you will present no one for any hatred, malice or ill will.” This oath of secrecy has been taken very seriously in Missouri courts, historically speaking. Remember the grand juror from the panel investigating former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, the man who shot and killed 18-year old Michael Brown? Former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch first made the controversial decision to convene a grand jury rather than outright charge Wilson with murder – but it was McCulloch’s own behavior during those proceedings that led one grand juror to speak up. As part of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the grand juror, the ACLU of Missouri argued that “[t]he racial injustices uncovered after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown permeate multiple levels of government, and we need transparency, accountability, and reforms for effective change.” While the grand juror in Darren Wilson’s proceedings was blocked by a federal judge from breaking that oath of secrecy, what became clearer in the aftermath of Wilson’s investigation was McCulloch’s lack of good faith in prosecuting the former cop. McCulloch specifically was accused of tanking the proceedings, allowing witnesses to lie on the stand, and failing to cross-examine the witnesses whose stories aligned with Wilson’s version of events. St. Louis County Circuit Judge Joseph Walsh refused to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate McCulloch’s conduct.
But perhaps what makes the Tisaby grand jurors’ letter even more shocking is that they heard evidence against Tisaby – not Gardner – and they attempted to speak out on a case and potential defendant, lacking any authority to do so. The St. Louis City Circuit Court acted appropriately by declining to forward the grand jurors’ letter to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, but the fact that the Tisaby grand jurors felt entitled to break Missouri law to send correspondence to a judge about a case for which they heard no evidence indicates much larger problems within the Show Me State’s legal system. At least Gardner had the guts to charge disgraced former governor Eric Greitens directly, which led to the Tisaby inquiry, rather than use and abuse the grand jury system.
Meanwhile, County Executive candidate and Steve Stenger lackey Jane Dueker has received tens of thousands of donations from her ex-boss’s donors since our last column, including a $30,000 donation from Commercial Development Company, Inc., and a $22,400 donation from August Busch III, brother of U.S. Senate Candidate Trudy Busch Valentine. Of note, Dueker’s own brother, John Eilermann, donated a similar amount to incumbent County Executive Sam Page just a few weeks ago.
Remind us – with the same donors and supporters, how exactly is Dueker different from Stenger? None of Dueker’s contributions come from the community, perhaps reflecting the overall support that she has from voters.
In other County Council races, Council Chairwoman Rita Heard Days is starting to feel the consequences of her inexplicable delay of the Convention Center bond vote, costing the region tens of millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue and creating financial instability for potential bidders on the much needed long-delayed expansion and upgrades. As her 1st District challenger, Jennings Councilman Terry Wilson, picks up momentum and votes, Days has been left scrambling for allies and support.
Fortunately for her, Republican County Council Lame Duck Tim Fitch and St. Louis City Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed (a three-time losing St. Louis mayoral candidate) are hosting a fundraiser for Days – in the City, where no one can vote for her – in a few weeks. Maybe she can scrounge up support there, as she steadily loses support in the 1st.
Finally, Congresswoman Cori Bush, D – MO-01, has received some unjustifiable criticism for drawing from her own life experiences of being unhoused and uninsured inspiration that prompted her to push for a whopping $9.2 million in federal earmarked spending in St. Louis. Projects to be funded include a new community health center in Ferguson, a wellness campus in The Ville, mobile hospital units to serve the region’s unhoused communities, an entrepreneurship center at Harris-Stowe State University, and additional funding for gun violence prevention programs, among other projects. While we don’t see any credible basis to criticize Bush’s massive victory for St. Louis, it’s worth noting that the loudest complaints about Bush’s leadership come from supporters of her political opponent, Steve Roberts Jr., who is still reeling after failing to secure a new favorable, gerrymandered congressional map for the August primary.
On the other hand, U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R – MO-02, brought no federal funding to her district, which covers western and southern St. Louis County. Sen. Josh Hawley and Reps. Jason Smith and Vicky Hartzler, all Republicans, also failed their constituents by refusing to request federal funding for Missouri projects. However, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, in his final year of office, secured the sixth-largest share of earmarks nationwide: $313.3 million to go to projects like UMSL’s nursing school expansion, maintenance and upgrades to the Chesterfield levees, and several major bridge and infrastructure projects throughout the state.
