A Missouri ethics panel found on Tuesday that Kim Gardner, the George Soros-funded prosecutor in former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ (R) case, violated multiple ethics rules.
In 2018, Gardner investigated Greitens over allegedly blackmailing a woman with compromising photos while he was Missouri governor. Gardner’s investigation ultimately led to Greitens’ resignation, but he maintained his innocence.
Gardner’s investigation fell apart when she dropped the invasion of privacy charges against Greitens after a judge determined she would have to testify as part of the proceedings.
However, as part of Gardner’s investigation, she hired former FBI agent William Tisaby to help with her investigation and conduct all interviews with the alleged victim instead of going with the St. Louis Police Department.
In March, Tisaby pled guilty to tampering with evidence in the Greitens investigation after a grand jury indicted him on multiple counts of perjury and one of evidence tampering. Tisaby allegedly colluded with Gardner’s office while conducting the investigation and admittedly suppressed documents relating to it.
Tuesday’s ethics panel decision comes one month after the Missouri Supreme Court ordered Gardner to release all communications between her and Soros from January 2017 to July 2019 relating to the Greitens investigation.
The panel found that Gardner included “an erroneous statement” in her filing against Greitens and failed to provide Greitens with all of her notes from the interviews with the alleged victim.
The defendant in the criminal prosecution likely incurred substantial legal fees to compel discovery of evidence that should have been voluntarily produced by Respondent and/or her Office. Similarly, taxpayer dollars were spent responding to claims of discovery malfeasance on the part of Respondent and/or her Office.
And in the wake of Respondent’s non-production, already thinly stretched judicial resources were expended to hold several hearings, review motions and pleadings, and issue orders and rulings, all pertaining to documents and evidence that should have been voluntarily produced.
The panel said the fact that Gardner dropped the case against Greitens was a mitigating factor in her favor and acknowledged that she took “full responsibility for her actions.”
As a result, the panel disciplined Gardner by issuing a public reprimand on her law license.
However, the grand jury members from Tisaby’s perjury and evidence tampering indictment argued Gardner should have suffered more severe consequences. In a letter sent to the presiding judge in Greitens’ case signed, “Seven Grand Jurors,” they cited Gardner’s “calculate deceit and/or outright incompetence” as a reason for imposing harsher sanctions.
Our work exposed us to activity and behaviors in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office that we considered disturbing and certainly unethical. What we observed was not inadvertent nor inconsequential but was calculated deceit and/or outright incompetence; neither of which is acceptable behavior for a person holding this public office.
The jurors further argued that Gardner’s “disregard for the law” as a public official is “reprehensible.”
Our assignment as jurors was to investigate the indicted but our efforts revealed Ms. Gardner’s illegal prosecutorial misconduct to the point that we believed her actions were likely indictable as well. The fact that an ethics review was pending suggested gave us hope that Ms. Gardner would indeed face severe and appropriate consequences.
Greitens is hopeful of a return to political office. He’s currently a frontrunner in Missouri’s Republican U.S. Senate primary that is scheduled for August 2.
Elon Musk has declared that he will vote Republican at the next election, despite having always voted for Democrats in the past.
Musk made the comments during a live recording of the All-In Podcast on Monday, when asked about why he was so invested in purchasing Twitter and turning it into a private company. Musk argued that there was a serious need for a digital town square that is inclusive, politically balanced, and transparent about their algorithms.
However, this is currently not the case at Twitter, where people don’t know “what the heck is going on” on the Big Tech platform. “Why is one tweet doing well? Why is another tweet not?” he asked. “Is it the algorithm? Did someone manually intervene? Why are some accounts banned with no recourse apparently?” Musk continued.
He said that the current reality was that Twitter has a “very far-left” bias, which could not continue. “I would class myself as a moderate, neither Republican nor Democrat, and in fact I have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, overwhelmingly,” he added.
“I’m not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear. Now this election I will.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 17, 2022
It is unclear whether Musk was referring to the upcoming midterm elections, or the next presidential election in 2024.
Musk reiterated that the point that he had never voted Republican before, but planned to now, was further evidence that his purchase of Twitter was not meant to be “some sort of right wing takeover, as some people on the left may fear, but rather a moderate wing takeover,” to ensure that “people of all political beliefs feel welcome in the digital town square.”
The South African billionaire’s purchase of Twitter is currently on hold, pending an investigation into the levels of fake and spambot accounts on the platform, but confirmed that he was still “committed” to acquiring it. He has also indicated that he may be willing to buy it for a price lower than the originally negotiated $54.20 per share.
On Monday, Siru Murugesan, a Senior Engineer for Twitter, was caught on camera by Project Veritas admitting that the company’s “commie as f*ck” staff “censors the right” and hates billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk for being a “capitalist.”
According to Murugesan, Twitter’s blatant censorship of right wing views is “true. There is bias. It is what it is today.”
Siru Murugesan, a Senior Engineer for Twitter, was caught on camera by Project Veritas admitting that the company’s “commie as f*ck” staff “censors the right” and hates billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk for being a “capitalist.”
“Elon [Musk] believes in free speech,” he added, explaining that “some of my colleagues are like super left, left, left, left, left” on the political spectrum. “Our jobs are at stake — he’s a capitalist, and we weren’t really operating as capitalists, more like very socialist,” Murugesan said. “We’re all like Commie as f–k.”
“‘I think it’s just like the environment, like you’re there and you become like this Commie — they call it ‘Commifornia,’” he said, referring to Twitter staffers’ nickname for California.
I don’t know [if] the two parties can truly co-exist on one platform,” he continued. “We’re actually censoring the right, and not the left.”
According to Murugesan, Twitter’s blatant censorship of right wing views is “true. There is bias. It is what it is today.”
While Twitter has not released a statement to the public in response to the explosive Project Veritas video footage, the Big Tech giant reportedly sent out an internal email to staff warning them about the video.
“As we expected, a video was posted this evening by Project Veritas depicting a Tweep allegedly speaking about a number of company issues,” the email reportedly states.
“We are in contact with the person involved and doing everything we can to help them. There may be more videos to come, and we’re continuing to monitor the situation,” Twitter’s email continues.
“Please remember that we all have an obligation to protect confidential, proprietary information and not discuss internal conversations, policies, or products outside of work.
The leaked recording came shortly after Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal wrote a 13-tweet thread about how his platform fights spam bots, apparently prompted after Musk expressed doubt in the company’s claim that only 5% of its users are bots and put his acquisition of the company on hold.
Musk was unimpressed with Agrawal’s lengthy explanation for how the big tech platform fights spam, with the South African billionaire responding with an unflattering emoji and a probing question about Twitter’s advertising practices, Valiant News reported.
So how do advertisers know what they’re getting for their money? This is fundamental to the financial health of Twitter.
Voters in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho, and Oregon all head to the polls Tuesday to select their nominees in both GOP and Democrat primaries in what is thus far this year perhaps the biggest election night yet.
Center-stage is Pennsylvania’s GOP U.S. Senate primary, where celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz – with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement – aims to secure the nomination and advance to the general election. Both Oz and businessman David McCormick, who despite his Wall Street history has run one of the most America First campaigns this cycle, have spent north of eight figures bashing each other to smithereens in a brutal ad campaign. Kathy Barnette, the author and conservative commentator whose powerful personal story has captivated voters, has surged into the top tier in the final weeks of the campaign, giving both of the big spenders a run for their money. Who wins between Oz, McCormick, and Barnette, will have major implications for the future of the GOP, for the party’s chances in the general election in Pennsylvania, and whether the GOP has a shot at retaking the U.S. Senate majority in these upcoming midterm elections in November.
The winner of that primetime primary is likely to face Democrat Lt. Gov John Fetterman in the general election, assuming Fetterman can swat away primary opponents, including Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), even after suffering a stroke that has left him hospitalized in the final days of the campaign.
In addition to many key congressional primaries as well, voters in Pennsylvania will also select nominees in both parties for governor. On the Democrat side, Attorney General Josh Shapiro is a shoo-in and looks to make his general election bid formal on Tuesday night. On the GOP side, divisions remain despite a last-second endorsement of state Sen. Doug Mastriano from Trump. Mastriano, a deeply-flawed candidate with a messy history on the issues, has relied on a divided field to poll well ahead of the rest of his opponents. Other Republicans, most prominently former Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), have waged a desperate campaign in an attempt to hold him off.
In North Carolina, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) appears to be coasting into the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate – something that just a few months ago was no sure thing. However, Budd, with Trump’s endorsement, has rallied late in the spring to a commanding lead in the polls representing a generational shift inside the GOP towards outsider candidates like him and J.D. Vance in Ohio, who won his primary a couple of weeks ago. Several down ticket congressional primaries are up for grabs, too, most notably whether Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) can hold off a primary challenge, and some open seats will test Trump’s endorsement there as well.
In Oregon and Kentucky, Democrat infighting in their primaries could potentially be the story of the night, and other races loom large there possibly. In Idaho, GOP Gov. Brad Little faces GOP Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin in a primary. Trump endorsed McGeachin, another test of the former president’s strength inside the party, especially in a deep red state like Idaho.
Follow along here for live updates as the results pour in from across the country. The polls begin closing in parts of Kentucky at just 6 p.m. ET and the rest of the state at 7 p.m. ET. In North Carolina, the polls are open until 7:30 p.m. ET, and in Pennsylvania until 8 p.m. ET. In Idaho, the polls close at 10 p.m. ET, and in Oregon most of the polls close at 11 p.m. ET though some in areas that follow Mountain Time close at 10 p.m. ET.
UPDATE 8:14 p.m. ET:
Oz is leading in the early Philadelphia County returns, but McCormick has the early statewide lead for now.
UPDATE 8:10 p.m. ET:
It’s worth noting those first Pennsylvania Senate GOP primary results are from Allegheny County, where McCormick is expected to do very well. Some early results from Northampton County on the other side of the state also have McCormick leading there too. It’s still very early, so this race will tighten big time as other counties begin reporting.
UPDATE 8:07 p.m. ET:
The very first results are coming in in Pennsylvania. With 1 percent reporting according to the New York Times, David McCormick has a huge lead. McCormick, at 42.6 percent, is way ahead of Mehmet Oz’s 22.7 percent while Kathy Barnette is at 15.6 percent. It is still very early here so expect this to tighten and change significantly.
UPDATE 8:05 p.m. ET:
An update on Cawthorn’s situation–Wasserman says it is looking good for young flashy congressman at this point:
#NC11 update: Edwards (R) leads Cawthorn (R) 38%-27%, but Edwards’s best vote troves – the early votes in his Buncombe/Henderson/Transylvania state senate district – are entirely reporting.
So this thing is going to tighten. And, it’s probably not going to a runoff.
In North Carolina’s 13th congressional district GOP primary, Bo Hines–the Trump-backed pick–has a healthy lead so far but it is early. With 23 percent reporting according to the New York Times, Hines has 30.9 percent–close to a double digit lead–and leads by about 1,500 votes.
UPDATE 8:00 p.m. ET
The polls have closed in Pennsylvania, where the banner race of the night–the U.S. Senate GOP primary–is, and results there are expected imminently.
UPDATE 7:54 p.m. ET:
It is worth noting that the open U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina that Budd just won the nomination for and is easily the favorite over Beasley in November’s general election is being vacated by retiring Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC). Similar to in Ohio a couple weeks ago, where the outgoing Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) saw the GOP primary for his seat won by another outsider J.D. Vance, this seems to be the beginning of major changes to the Republican Party–and the U.S. Senate–in 2022.
UPDATE 7:52 p.m. ET:
On the other side of the aisle, Democrat Cheri Beasley has wrapped up her primary and will face Budd in November in the critical swing state of North Carolina:
BREAKING: Cheri Beasley wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in North Carolina primary election. #APRaceCall at 7:47 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
The polls were not closed for even 20 minutes before the Associated Press made the official call for the Trump-backed Ted Budd, who is now the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate:
BREAKING: Ted Budd wins Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in North Carolina primary election. #APRaceCall at 7:47 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
This was clearly a landslide, or blowout, election victory for both Budd and Trump.
UPDATE 7:49 p.m. ET:
Meanwhile, in the 11th district, Cawthorn might be in a bit of trouble:
In #NC11, state Sen. Chuck Edwards (R) leads Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) 38%-27% in the early vote w/ a huge lead in Asheville. But we’re going to have to wait for EDay votes.
With 11 percent reporting according to the New York Times, Budd has a commanding lead over McCrory and former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC). Budd has 57.8 percent to McCrory’s 25.5 percent while Walker has just 8.7 percent.
UPDATE 7:40 p.m. ET:
Ted Budd has taken a huge lead in the very early results, and Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report has already called the race for him:
I’ve seen enough: Rep. Ted Budd (R) wins the GOP primary for #NCSEN and will face Cheri Beasley (D) in the fall.
News organizations have yet to call it, but it seems like Budd is as expected coasting to victory. This is another win for Trump, and more importantly was not always as sure a thing as it turned out to be in the last few weeks. As recently as late winter or early spring, Budd was trailing in the polls or even with his opponents. Trump’s early endorsement, as well as a strong campaign from the conservative outsider, seem to have generated significant momentum for him and propelled him to way out in front in this critical race. Budd is likely to face Democrat Cheri Beasley in the general election.
UPDATE 7:36 p.m. ET:
Another Trump endorsement, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), won his primary:
BREAKING: Andy Barr wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 7:31 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
One to watch closely in North Carolina is the primary challenge that Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is facing. He’s endorsed by Trump, but has been dogged by a series of attacks in recent weeks. The primary runoff thresholds also, per some experts, benefit him:
Election rules matter: if NC’s primary runoff threshold were 50% or even 40%, #NC11 Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) would be the underdog for renomination. Because it’s just 30%, he enters tonight the slight favorite.
Another Trump endorsement, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), has won his primary:
BREAKING: Thomas Massie wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 7:23 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
The polls have now closed in North Carolina, where the GOP U.S. Senate primary is set to be the banner race but several down-ticket primaries matter as well. Results should be coming very soon and if the polls showing Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) significantly leading huge over former GOP Gov. Pat McCrory are right a call should be imminent.
UPDATE 7:23 p.m. ET:
Those 26 Trump endorsements on the line on Tuesday night are as follows, according to Trump’s team:
Idaho-Governor: Janice McGeachin Idaho-Senate: Mike Crapo Idaho-01: Russ Fulcher
Kentucky-Senate: Rand Paul Kentucky-01: James Comer Kentucky-02: Brett Guthrie Kentucky-04: Thomas Massie Kentucky-05: Hal Rogers Kentucky-06: Andy Barr
North Carolina-Senate: Ted Budd North Carolina-03: Greg Murphy North Carolina-05: Virginia Foxx North Carolina-07: David Rouzer North Carolina-08: Dan Bishop North Carolina-09: Richard Hudson North Carolina-10: Patrick McHenry North Carolina-11: Madison Cawthorn North Carolina-13: Bo Hines
Pennsylvania-Governor: Doug Mastriano Pennsylvania-Senate: Mehmet Oz Pennsylvania-08: Jim Bognet Pennsylvania-10: Scott Perry Pennsylvania-11: Lloyd Smucker Pennsylvania-13: John Joyce Pennsylvania-14: Guy Reschenthaler Pennsylvania-16: Mike Kelly
UPDATE 7:21 p.m. ET
The polls have closed in Kentucky, and several of Trump’s endorsed candidates have already won. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) won his primary easily:
BREAKING: Rand Paul wins Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Kentucky primary election. #APRaceCall at 7:10 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
BREAKING: Harold Rogers wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 7:16 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
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