Young Republic Governor of Missouri State Eric Greitens arrested and indicted for threatening to release nude photo of a Hairdresser if she discloses his love affair
Thursday, February 22, 2018
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| Missouri Governor Eric Greitens. |
VietPress USA (Feb. 22, 2018): Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was arrested Thursday and taken into custody after a St. Louis grand jury handed down an indictment against Greitens on a felony charge of invasion of privacy, the Kansas City Star reported.
The indictment follows Greitens admission in January that he had an affair in 2015 with a hairdresser, according to news reports, and that he threatened to release a nude photo of the woman if she ever publicly admitted to the affair.
The grand jury determined that the Republican governor took the picture, which showed the woman blindfolded and bound, and that it was taken “in a place where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
CNN reported that Missouri GOP Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted on Thursday amid looming allegations of sexual misconduct and blackmail following an admission of an affair last month.
He was charged in St. Louis with a first-degree felony invasion of privacy, according to the Missouri court system.
In a statement Thursday, Greitens denied committing any crime and instead called the situation "a personal mistake" from his time prior to taking office.
According to Wikipedia, Eric Robert Greitens, born April 10, 1974, is an American politician, author, and former Navy SEAL, serving as the 56th Governor of Missouri since January 2017. He was a Democrat until 2015 and switched to the Republican Party. He is the second youngest Governor in the United States, after New Hampshire's Chris Sununu.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Greitens graduated from Parkway North High School before attending Duke University with a scholarship. After attending the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar and earning a doctorate, he later became a U.S. Navy SEAL officer, where he served four tours of duty around the world, rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, commanded an Al-Qaeda targeting cell and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, among other decorations. Following his military service, Greitens served as a White House Fellow and founded The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization serving veterans which he led until 2014. Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.
Previously a Democrat, he announced his candidacy for governor as a Republican, campaigning on a platform centered around ethics reform. Positioning himself as a conservative outsider, his campaign drew significant comparison to the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. After defeating three opponents in the Republican primaries, he faced state Attorney General Chris Koster whom he defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.
During his tenure, the state legislature has passed right-to-work legislation and enacted legislation to counteract the prescription drug crisis. Greitens has been criticized for his campaign's refusal to disclose dark moneydonors. The Grand Jury Court indicted him today on Thursday amid looming allegations of sexual misconduct and blackmail following an admission of an affair with a hairdresser.
Read this news from AP on Yahoo News at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/grand-jury-indicts-missouri-governor-admitted-affair-222044046--election.html
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Grand jury indicts Missouri governor who admitted affair
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis grand jury on Thursday indicted Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015. The Republican governor responded that he made a mistake but committed no crime.
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St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner launched an investigation in January after Greitens admitted to an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser that began in March 2015. He was elected governor in November 2016. Gardner, a Democrat, declined comment beyond a brief news release.
In a statement following the indictment , Greitens was defiant and attacked the prosecutor who brought the charge.
"As I have said before, I made a personal mistake before I was Governor," he said. "I did not commit a crime. With today's disappointing and misguided political decision, my confidence in our prosecutorial system is shaken, but not broken. I know this will be righted soon. The people of Missouri deserve better than a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points."
Greitens' attorney, in a separate statement, called the indictment "baseless and unfounded."
"In 40 years of public and private practice, I have never seen anything like this," attorney Edward L. Dowd Jr. said.
Greitens' legal team immediately filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that any relationship with the woman was consensual.
Reaction from Missouri lawmakers was swift, with some Democrats calling for him to resign and some fellow Republicans also doubtful that he can survive in office.
Republican House leaders said they are launching an investigation of Greitens, which House Communication Director Trevor Fox said is needed before impeachment proceedings could begin.
"We will carefully examine the facts contained in the indictment and answer the question as to whether or not the governor can lead our state while a felony case moves forward," the statement from House Speaker Todd Richardson said. The House has the power to initiate impeachment proceedings against a governor.
The indictment states that on March 21, 2015, Greitens photographed a woman identified only by her initials "in a state of full or partial nudity" without her knowledge or consent. The indictment said Greitens "transmitted the image contained in the photograph in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer."
The penalty for first-degree invasion of privacy in Missouri is up to four years in prison.
Greitens was taken into custody in St. Louis and released on his own recognizance, said Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for Gardner.
In 2015, the woman told her husband, who was secretly taping the conversation, that Greitens took the compromising photo of her at his home and threatened to use it as blackmail if she spoke about the affair. Gardner's news release said it is a felony if a person transmits an image "in a manner that allows access to that image via a computer."
Greitens has repeatedly denied blackmailing the woman, but has repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether he took a photo.
Democratic state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed of St. Louis called for an impeachment process to begin immediately.
"Gov. Greitens has to go," Nasheed said. "Missourians thought they voted for a person of character and integrity, and instead they got a liar and alleged criminal."
Greitens is due in court for his first hearing on March 16, before Circuit Judge Rex Burlison.
Greitens will be allowed to travel. He is scheduled to be in Washington this weekend for a meeting of the nation's governors. It wasn't immediately clear if he would still go.
The indictment came about a month before the statute of limitations would have run out. The statute of limitations for invasion of privacy in Missouri is three years.
Ryan, asked if additional charges could be filed, said the matter is still under investigation. Several lawmakers were questioned last week by investigators from Gardner's office. Kirksville Republican Rep. Nate Walker said investigators talked to him about so-called dark money campaign contributions that are routed through nonprofits to hide their source.
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