Greitens faces more calls to leave
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faced mounting calls to resign Thursday following allegations of unwanted sexual aggression toward a woman, but his defense attorneys argued that a criminal indictment against him should be dismissed because of alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
The developments came a day after a special legislative committee released a graphic report in which a woman testified that Greitens spanked, slapped, grabbed, shoved and threatened her during a series of sexual encounters in 2015 that at times left her crying and afraid. Greitens has insisted that their relationship was consensual and the allegations of violence are false.
The committee’s investigation of Greitens began after he was charged in St. Louis with a felony indictment of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of the woman while she was partially nude.
In court Thursday, his attorneys asserted that the St. Louis prosecutors’ office had engaged in misconduct and potentially perjury by initially saying that a video recorder had malfunctioned during a March interview of the woman.
Greitens’ attorneys say prosecutors shared the video with them Wednesday night — only after the release of the Legislature’s report — and that the woman’s testimony in the video backs up Greitens’ claim of a consensual encounter.
“This woman is not a victim,” Greitens’ attorney Jim Martin said. “She was a willing participant in everything they did, and the video goes a long way to establish that.”
St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison made no immediate ruling on the request to dismiss the case.
The woman’s attorney, Scott Simpson, declined to comment on the defense team’s assertions about what is in the video, citing a gag order in the criminal case.
At the Missouri Capitol, pressure was mounting on Greitens, 44, to step down before his scheduled May 14 trial.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe became the highest-ranking state lawmaker calling for his immediate resignation.
“Should the governor choose not to resign, I am persuaded that he has not only burned bridges, he has blown them up to where it will be impossible for him to effectively lead the state going forward,” Kehoe said in a statement.
Republican state Attorney General Josh Hawley and Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire Mccaskill, whom Hawley is challenging, also have both called on Greitens to step down.
But Greitens is vowing to remain in office and prove his innocence against allegations that he denounced as “lies and falsehoods.”