Special prosecutor to investigate claim Missouri judge lied

ST. LOUIS — A special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate whether a Missouri judge lied on an affidavit he filed in a long-running feud with an elected official he suspended from office.

The investigation of Circuit Judge Patrick Flynn, the presiding judge in Lincoln County, stems from an August 2020 affidavit he filed as part of a lawsuit against him brought by Circuit Clerk Karla Allsberry, a police probable-cause statement shows.

Documents obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch show Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski was appointed to investigate the misdemeanor allegation of filing a false affidavit. The appointment followed an investigation by Troy police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Stefanski said she could not comment on cases under review. Flynn and lawyers for the Missouri Attorney General's Office representing him did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.

Last year, Flynn appointed a special prosecutor to investigate claims against Allsberry, but the special prosecutor declined to prosecute after conducting an investigation.

The feud dates to the 2018 election, when Allsberry beat the incumbent clerk supported by Flynn. Allsberry's husband, Associate Circuit Judge Gregory Allsberry, defeated Flynn in a 2014 judicial election. Flynn successfully ran for circuit judge in 2018.