St. Louis circuit attorney fined over use of campaign money

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has been fined $63,009 by the Missouri Ethics Commission for using campaign funds for personal expenses and failing to accurately report contributions and expenditures.

The Democrat says in a statement Wednesday that the mistakes were due to clerical errors. She says a “Republican political operative” filed the complaint last spring, as Gardner was prosecuting Republican then-Gov. Eric Greitens .

The agreement allows Gardner to pay just $6,314 if given within 45 days. She paid the fine Friday.

Gardner was a state representative before being elected circuit attorney in 2016.

Gardner faced scrutiny while prosecuting Greitens for invasion of privacy related to an extramarital affair. She later charged him with tampering with computer data for providing his political fundraiser with the donor list of a charity he founded. Both charges were dropped. Greitens resigned in May.