Hours after the Missouri Supreme Court appointed a federal appeals judge to adjudicate his legal action against St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner over alleged neglect for duties in office, state Attorney General Andrew Bailey told "Hannity" his litigation is just.
Bailey on Thursday filed a petition quo warranto, which is the legal mechanism under state law that allows the attorney general to remove a prosecutor who neglects his or her duties. Bailey will have to show Judge John Torbitzky that Gardner neglected her duties and should be removed.
Bailey told Fox News there are several alleged examples of such negligence, but discussed one in particular relating to the prosecution of Daniel Riley, 21, who had been out on bail multiple times and struck a teenager with a vehicle.
Bailey says Gardner is responsible for Riley's release on bond, but Gardner on Thursday denied that claim and said she had told one judge to revoke Riley's bond.
WHAT'S NEXT IN LEGAL BATTLE TO OUST EMBATTLED MO DEM PROSECUTOR KIM GARDNER
"The defendant, Riley, should have been locked up in jail awaiting trial. He was arrested for a violent offense and should not have been out on bond. But after he was out on bond, he committed numerous bond violations and [Gardner] never moved to revoke his bond," Bailey said.
"Now, she will tell you that she made oral motion in court and that it's the court's fault his bond wasn't revoked. But she has a responsibility here. And here's the thing that she's got a problem with. Everything that happens in court is transcribed… And what she's saying happened is directly refuted by the evidence in this case," he claimed.
"This is a continuous pattern of behavior that constitutes an illegal, willful neglect in office."
Bailey called the quo warranto motion a "check-and-balance" against such alleged behavior by Gardner.
"It's time for the circuit attorney to go and the rule of law and justice to prevail."
In recent remarks, Gardner said her office "could have done more" but that claims they "did nothing is only disingenuous."
"We're going to fight very hard for justice in spite of the vitriol, the hate, the racist attacks, the known manipulation of the court procedures to make sure our office fails," Gardner added.
On" Hannity," Bailey said the litigation is "about the rule of law and justice for victims."
"I come from a prosecutor's office. I've used prosecutorial discretion to determine whether or not I had sufficient evidence to pursue cases. And that's what prosecutorial discretion is about. It is not an after-the-fact veto to nullify laws you don't like. So if you don't want to enforce laws, don't take a job as a prosecutor," he said.
Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
