Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ political career is heading toward the dumpster after allegations he tried to blackmail a woman he had an extramarital affair with, threatening to release a photo he took of her, without her permission, in a compromising position. It’s a position he put her in when he taped her to hanging exercise rings in his house and blindfolded her before snapping the photo. You can read those details here, but she told her then-husband that Greitens scared her. More details from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“You’re never going to mention my name,” Greitens told the woman, according to her account on the recording. “Otherwise, this picture will be everywhere.”
In the recorded account, the woman objects only after Greitens made that comment and began kissing her. On the recording, the woman says she told Greitens: “You need to stop. I don’t want this. I don’t want this. I don’t want this.” Greitens then stopped and backed off, the woman said on the recording.
In another conversation, the woman said Greitens slapped her. If these allegations are true, Greitens cannot continue as the governor of Missouri. It’s just that simple. Aside from the public embarrassment of the so-called “family values” Greitens being a lecherous, lying miscreant, he is now facing a formal criminal investigation. From Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner in St. Louis:
January 11, 2018
The serious allegations against Missouri Governor Eric Greitens are very troubling. After further consideration, I have decided to launch a formal investigation into the alleged actions of Governor Greitens.
It is essential for residents of the City of St. Louis and our state to have confidence in their leaders. They must know that the Office of the CircuitAttorney will hold public officials accountable in the same manner as any other resident of our city. Both parties and the people of St. Louis deserve a thorough investigation of these allegations.
If anyone has any information related to this matter, I encourage them to contact my office immediately.
For his part, Greitens is denying everything but the extramarital affair. His attorney says his client will be cleared:
Greitens’ attorney, James Bennett, called the allegations “false” and said they are being advanced by the governor’s political adversaries.
“The governor is very confident he will be cleared in any investigation. This is a three-year-old personal matter that presents no matters of public or legal interest. The facts will prove that fully,” Bennett said.
Either way, it is hard to see how Greitens survives this scandal.