Missouri governor quits as investigations widen
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a sometimes brash political outsider whose unconventional resumé as a Rhodes scholar and Navy SEAL officer made him a rising star in the Republican party, abruptly resigned Tuesday amid a widening investigation that arose from an affair with his former hairdresser.
The 44-year-old governor spent nearly six months fighting to stay in office after the affair became public in January in a television news report that aired immediately following his State of the State address. The probes into his conduct by prosecutors and lawmakers began with allegations stemming from the affair and expanded to include questions about whether he had violated campaign-finance laws.
Greitens said his resignation would take effect Friday.
“This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family — millions of dollars of mounting legal bills, endless personal attacks designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends,” he said in a brief statement from his Jefferson City office.
Lawmakers pressuring Greitens to step down included many Republicans, who feared that his troubles could jeopardize the GOP’s chances of defeating incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill in a race considered essential to Republican hopes of keeping control of the Senate.
The local St. Louis prosecutor’s office said it had reached a “fair and just resolution” on criminal charges against Greitens now that he’s leaving office. But the prosecutor said details would not be made public until today.
A St. Louis grand jury indicted Greitens on Feb. 22 on one felony count of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a photo of the woman without her consent at his home in 2015, before he was elected governor. The charge was dismissed during jury selection, but a special prosecutor was considering whether to refile charges.
In April, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner charged Greitens with another felony, alleging that he improperly used the donor list for a charity that he had founded to raise money for his 2016 campaign.
Then less than two weeks ago, the Missouri legislature began meeting in special session to consider whether to pursue impeachment proceedings to try to oust Greitens from office. A special House investigatory committee had subpoenaed Greitens to testify next Monday.