Through his lawyer, Missouri’s embattled governor Eric Greitens continued to maintain his innocence on February 23 as other Republican lawmakers formed a committee to investigate the felony charges against him.
House Republicans, including Speaker of the House Todd Richardson, announced in a statement that they would be forming a committee to “answer the question as to whether or not the governor can lead our state while a felony case moves forward.”
The statement did not specifically mention impeachment, which some, including Democratic state Senator Jamilah Nasheed, have called for.
Greitens was indicted February 22 on charges of felony invasion of privacy. The charges stemmed from an allegation that he non-consensually took a partially nude photograph of a woman he was having an extramarital affair with in 2015. Greitens has admitted to the affair but denies any crime was committed. The indictment charges Greitens with the felony version of the crime, which requires that the photo was distributed in such a way that it could be accessed via computer.
The allegations first emerged from audio secretly recorded by the woman’s ex-husband and shared anonymously with local CBS affiliate KMOV. On the tape, the woman said Greitens photographed her blindfolded and with her hands bound and said he would publicize the photo if she ever spoke about their relationship.
Greitens’ lawyer Edward L. Dowd said in a statement to the media that he and his client welcome the chance to review the matter with a bipartisan House committee.
“The charges are unfounded and baseless. The governor is absolutely innocent. Not only is he presumed innocent – he is innocent,” Dowd said.
Dowd then attacked Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, a Democrat, whose office presented evidence to the grand jury.
“This whole investigation is completely unusual. This statute has never been used like this in Missouri history. In unprecedented fashion, the circuit attorney circumvented the local police force and hired her own investigators – we attempted to meet with the circuit attorney and make the governor available to discuss the issues. They refused,” Dowd said.
“She proceeded to file an indictment that has no facts. We will work with the committee. We will be deposing witnesses and will be happy to share information with you with the Court’s permission.”
Gardner’s spokesperson rebutted that the governor’s legal team requested a meeting with Gardner on February 22 to share the “human” side of Greitens’ story, but were refused. Greitens has also referred to the charges as a political attack; Gardner is a Democrat.
“Despite the governor’s personal attacks, the circuit attorney believes the courtroom is the appropriate place to argue the facts, not the media,” Gardner’s spokesperson said. “Kim Gardner maintains her unwavering confidence in our system of justice to bring this matter to a fair and just resolution.”
Senate president pro tem Ron Richard (R-Joplin) issued a statement in support of House Republicans’ decision.
“As a former speaker myself, I understand an investigation conducted by the Missouri House of Representatives is necessary under these serious circumstances,” Richard said. “In my long political career, I have found it best to reserve my comments until all of the facts have been revealed, and I will wait to see what the Missouri House discovers during their investigation.”
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) called on the Republican Governors Association (RGA) when the charges were filed to remove Greitens from their Executive Committee. On February 23, the RGA announced that Greitens would be stepping down and cancelling an appearance with their organization in Washington, D.C.
“Given his desire to focus his full attention on moving forward in Missouri, he also no longer intends to serve on the Executive Committee of the RGA,” the statement said.
The Missouri Republican Party, however, did back up Greitens in his charge that Gardner’s motives are impure, calling the charge a “political hit job.”
“We have a progressive anti-law enforcement Democrat wanting to single-handedly oust a law-and-order governor,” the party said in a statement.
Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus pushed back on that narrative with a statement in defense of Gardner.
“It is inappropriate for the Missouri Republican Party to attack the chief prosecutor for the city of St. Louis, Kim Gardner, as she performs her duties as an elected official,” said Alan Green, the caucus’ chairman. “To call the indictment of Governor Greitens – which was issued by a grand jury – a political hit job without any evidence is the exact kind of rhetoric the Republican Party claims to decry.”
The ex-husband of Greitens’ former mistress has also weighed in only through an attorney. The law firm of Kodner Watkins LLC, which represents him, issued a statement saying it would be inappropriate for their client to comment on Grand Jury proceedings.
“Our client has never nor does he now have any interest in whether Governor Greitens is indicted, prosecuted, convicted, acquitted, remains governor, steps down or is impeached,” the statement said. “Our client’s sole objective has been and remains to protect the interests of his minor children and the image of their mother in their eyes. On a strictly personal level, our client seeks to have all matters Greitens related placed squarely and permanently in his rear-view mirror.”
After being taken into custody in St. Louis, Greitens was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court March 16, before Circuit Judge Rex Burlison. He could face up to four years in prison if found guilty.
