On his last day, Greitens signs 77 laws
‘Revenge porn’ measure OK’D before Parson sworn in as Missouri’s governor
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Just hours before he left office Friday, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed scores of new laws, including a measure that makes it a crime to try to threaten a person using a private sexual image — the same allegation that led to his downfall.
In the flurry of last-minute activity, the scandal-plagued governor approved 77 new laws, granted several pardons and commutations and won at least a temporary reprieve in a court battle over campaign records. He posted a long Facebook message touting his accomplishments — without any mention of why he was quitting — and quietly left Capitol about an hour before his resignation took effect.
A short time later, fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Parson was sworn in as Greitens’ successor and immediately pledged “to bring honor, integrity (and) transparency to the governor’s office.”
“We have an opportunity beginning today to have a fresh start in state government,” Parson said.
The “revenge porn” law signed by Greitens creates a felony that will apply to cases when someone threatens the nonconsensual dissemination of a private sexual image by coercing another person to refrain from an action.
The governor has been accused of taking a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an affair in 2015 and warning her he would distribute it if she ever spoke of their encounter.
He has acknowledged having the affair but denied criminal wrongdoing and refused to directly answer questions about whether he took the photo.
Greitens cannot be charged under the new law because it was not in effect at the time. But a special prosecutor is still weighing whether to refile an invasion-of-privacy charge against Greitens under a different law.
Parson said he wants to assure people “that everything’s fine and government is going to go forward.”
Though he’s leaving, Greitens isn’t entirely clear of legal problems.
The Missouri Ethics Commission continues to investigate a complaint that Greitens’ campaign filed false documents about the charity donor list. The FBI also has received information about Greitens from the chairman of a House investigatory panel and a private attorney representing the ex-husband of the woman with whom he had an affair.
On Friday, a judge granted a request from an attorney for Greitens’ campaign and a pro-greitens nonprofit to delay compliance with a Friday deadline to provide records subpoenaed by the House investigatory committee. A hearing on whether to rescind the order isn’t expected before next week.