× House committee releases Greitens report; governor calls report a ‘witch hunt’

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A special Missouri House committee investigating an invasion of privacy charge against Missouri Governor Eric Greitens released its findings Wednesday afternoon.

The House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight met behind closed doors Tuesday at the capitol, then met again Wednesday in closed session before the report was released. Democrats caucused in a basement meeting room, while Republicans met elsewhere.

The much-anticipated report was public at 5 p.m. State representatives must now decide whether to impeach the governor.

The committee began its investigation after the governor was indicted in February. Greitens is accused of taking a nude photo of a woman with whom he was having an affair in 2015, without that woman’s consent.

The woman, identified as Gov. Greitens’ former hairdresser, testified that the governor was physically aggressive toward her on more than one occasion over the course of the affair.

She said Greitens spanked, slapped, and shoved her in separate get-togethers.

After reviewing the report, House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D-Kansas City) said the governor must resign.

“For the good of the state, Eric Greitens must immediately resign. If he doesn’t, it will be the duty of the House of Representatives to restore integrity to the executive branch of state government,” Beatty said. “This duty must be conducted with careful deliberation following a thorough review of the evidence gathered to date. Once House members have had the opportunity to digest the special committee’s report and accompanying documentation, it is our hope that leadership in both parties can agree on the appropriate next step.”

Lt. Governor Mike Parson released a statement Wednesday calling for unity and correcting the state’s lingering problems.

“With the recent events that have distracted our great state, I want to say with all sincerity that it is time to unite and put aside our differences. Over the course of several months, it has been a trying time for many people. My heart goes out to the families involved. However, all Missourians must continue to stay focused on the task at hand – moving Missouri forward. We owe it to ourselves and generations to come.”

Gov. Greitens held a news conference prior to the release of the report. He called the report an outlandish “political witch hunt” and said people had turned his personal mistake into a spectacle. The governor said no standards of evidence were used in the committee investigation and that said investigation was conducted in secret, adding that no member of his defense team was allowed to see any evidence presented.

Greitens said he expects the report to be filled with more falsehoods.

The governor said he will continue to serve in office and believes he’ll be vindicated in a court of law.

You can read the 24-page report below in its entirety. (Please be advised, some of the content is graphic in nature and might not be suitable for younger audiences.)

38.576702 -92.173516</s>The special House investigation was initiated shortly after Greitens was indicted in February on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge for taking a nonconsensual photo of the partially nude woman and transmitting it in a way that could be accessed by a computer. The woman told the committee that Greitens took the photo after manipulating her into a compromising position during an unwanted sexual encounter and that he told her "everyone will know what a little whore you are" if she told anyone about him.</s>Missouri Governor Eric Greitens fires back against a Special Legislative Committee report that could shape his political career. The report relates to Greitens affair in 2015, and allegations that he tried to blackmail into silence the woman involved by threatening to release partially nude photos of her.

Last month, a Special House Legislative Committee launched its own investigation, a potential precursor to impeachment proceedings. Their report released today shows they believe the woman is an "overall credible witness".

Today, the Governor described the report as "full of lies," and described the investigation as a political witch hunt. The Governor has acknowledged having a consensual affair, but hasn't directly answered questions about whether he took a photo.

You can read the full Special Committee's report here.

For more about the investigation, click here.</s>The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2018, file photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks in Palmyra, Mo. Attorneys defending Greitens against an invasion-of-privacy charge are raising doubts about the testimony of a woman with whom ...

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2018, file photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks in Palmyra, Mo. Attorneys defending Greitens against an invasion-of-privacy charge are raising doubts about the testimony of a woman with whom ...

The Missouri House special investigative committee released its report on Governor Eric Greitens on Wednesday, April 11.

You can read part of the report, be advised it may contain inappropriate material that is not suitable for young audiences. You can click here to read it.

The report was on the investigation launched after Greitens was indicted by a grand jury in February on felony invasion of privacy stemming from a 2015 extramarital affair with his St. Louis hairdresser.

The woman testified that Greitens initiated unwanted sexual contact and slapped, grabbed and shoved her. She testified that during their first sexual encounter, Greitens threatened to distribute a partially nude photo taken without her permission if she spoke of the affair.

Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson released the following statement regarding the report:

“With the recent events that have distracted our great state, I want to say with all sincerity that it is time to unite and put aside our differences. Over the course of several months, it has been a trying time for many people. My heart goes out to the families involved. However, all Missourians must continue to stay focused on the task at hand – moving Missouri forward. We owe it to ourselves and generations to come.”

The committee that investigated Greitens said it was disappointed the governor declined to testify.

Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, said there were no restrictions from the circuit court prohibiting Greitens from testifying before the House committee.

Governor Eric Greitens spoke on Wednesday before the special legislative committee released the report.

He made the statement from his Capitol office.

Greitens called the report a "witch hunt" and said it would include "lies and falsehoods."

Copyright 2018 KFVS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press also contributed to this story.</s>A special legislative committee investigating Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says it will release its report Wednesday.

A news release from the Missouri House says the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight is scheduled to release its findings at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The investigation is a potential precursor to impeachment proceedings.

The Republican governor is charged with felony invasion of privacy and awaits trial next month. He’s accused of taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of a woman with whom he had an affair while she was partially nude.

The woman says Greitens threatened to make the photo public if she ever revealed the affair that happened in 2015, before Greitens was elected.</s>Missouri Governor Eric Greitens appears in a police booking photo in St. Louis, Missouri, February 22, 2018. — Reuters picMISSOURI, April 12 — A woman who had an extramarital affair with the governor of the US state of Missouri claimed he “coerced”, threatened, and struck her, according to an explosive report released yesterday.

The report was the result of an investigation by a bipartisan committee of the state’s legislature, set up to probe allegations that Republican Governor Eric Greitens had blackmailed his former mistress with a photograph of her in a state of undress.

Greitens has been criminally charged with invasion of privacy and scheduled to stand trial in May.

The committee report — which detailed allegations of behavior that was at times abusive and coercive — could be a precursor to impeachment and was separate from the criminal case.

Shortly before the report’s release, the governor shot back that the committee’s findings were “full of more false, outlandish and salacious accusations.”

“Over three years ago, I made a personal mistake,” the governor said at a news conference.

”But people are turning that personal mistake into a political spectacle and telling new lies about it.”

The report — filled with graphic details and strong language — relied heavily on the testimony of the woman with whom Greitens had the affair.

She has not been publicly identified, except as his former hairdresser.

The woman testified she had multiple sexual encounters with Greitens over several months in 2015.

Some of the governor’s sexual conduct — such as groping her during one haircut appointment — was not consensual, she claimed.

The governor was sometimes physically aggressive to the point of once striking her in the face and, during another occasion, shoving her to the ground, according to her testimony.

She also repeated her claim that Greitens took a photo of her without permission while she was bound and nude in the basement of his home during the initial encounter of their affair.

According to her testimony, he told her: “You’re not going to mention my name... because if you do, I’m going to take these pictures, and I’m going to put them everywhere I can... and then everyone will know what a little whore you are.”

The woman claimed Greitens then began touching her sexually and she performed oral sex on the governor, explaining to the committee that she felt “coerced, maybe. I felt as though that would allow me to leave.”

The woman claimed Greitens later regretted the threat, told her he had erased the photo, and she entered into a consensual affair following his contrition.

Greitens has repeatedly denied blackmailing and insisted the affair was consensual.

There were bipartisan calls in the report’s aftermath for the governor to resign or be impeached.

The speaker of the state house, also a Republican, said he would call a special session of the legislature to consider disciplinary action, including impeachment.

“This is not a witch hunt and the committee had no political agenda,” Speaker Todd Richardson said.

“The testimony outlined in the report is beyond disturbing.”

Claire McCaskill, a Democratic US senator representing Missouri, called on Greitens to resign, as did the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney-General Josh Hawley. — AFP</s>Missouri Governor Eric Greitens has been accused of non-consensual sexual contact with his former hair dresser, according to a report released Wednesday by the Missouri House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight.He has categorically denied any illegal actions or non-consensual contact.In February, Greitens, 44, was indicted and arrested on felony charges of invasion of privacy by a grand jury in St. Louis for allegedly taking a partially or fully nude photo and "subsequently transmitted the image contained in the photograph in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer."The findings made public on Wednesday corroborated reports that a woman alleged he threatened to use a photo to blackmail her into keeping their relationship quiet. The committee, composed of five Republicans and two Democrats, was established Feb. 27, five days after Greitens' indictment.The committee's report includes graphic testimony about a sexual encounter at Greitens' home given by his accuser, whom the report identifies as "an overall credible witness.""Upon entering the basement, Witness 1 testified that Greitens taped her hands to pull-up rings with 'this gauzed tape stuff' and then put a blindfold on her," according to the report.The report states that the witness testified that after Greitens ripped her shirt open and pulled down her pants, she heard what sounded like a picture being taken."'[T]hen I hear him kind of, like, step back -- take a step back and I hear -- I can hear like a, like a cell phone -- like a picture, and I can see a flash through the blindfold,'" the report quotes the woman as saying.Although neither she nor the committee saw the actual picture, it goes on to quote Greitens' accuser as saying he went on to threaten to release the photo, according to the report. The witness also testified that Greitens said, "'Don't even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, I'm going to take these pictures, and I'm going to put them everywhere I can.'"Greitens said in a statement that the relationship was consensual."This was an entirely consensual relationship, and any allegation of violence or sexual assault is false," he said. "This was a months-long consenting relationship between two adults. The accusations published in the House Committee's report will be directly contradicted by the facts that emerge in court."Though Greitens, a former Navy Seal and a rising star in the GOP, apologized for having an extra-marital affair, he declined to testify before the committee and provided it with no additional details."To the extent this report does not include Greitens' perspective, that is the result of his choice not to participate," the report said.Greitens has publicly denied any non-consensual contact with his accuser."There was no threat of violence," Greitens told the Associated Press in a January interview. "There was no threat of blackmail."According to the report, the witness told the committee she felt fearful, embarrassed and ashamed after telling Greitens she would stay quiet about the interaction."Witness 1 testified that after she stated, 'I don't want this,' Greitens 'stood up and started helping me take down the tape. He was like ... calm down, it's OK,'" the report stated.The witness said that when she then tried to leave, "'He grabs me and like -- like, in a bear hug -- and was like, shh, shh, it's OK, calm down, calm down, and like lays me down on this ground in the basement,'" according her testimony in the report.While on the ground, she said Greitens took down his pants and she engaged in oral sex with him.According to the report, when asked if she consented, the witness replied: "'It felt like consent, but, no, I didn't want to do it.'"The witness added to her statement later."'Coerced, maybe,'" she said in the report. "'I felt as though that would allow me to leave.'"</s>(Reuters) - Missouri’s attorney general called on Governor Eric Greitens, a fellow Republican, to resign on Wednesday, saying the findings of a newly released state legislative report on the sex scandal embroiling Greitens are grounds for his impeachment.

Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Claire McCaskill, said the report “contains shocking, substantial and corroborated evidence of wrongdoing” by the 44-year-old governor.

Greitens, who is charged with criminal invasion of privacy in connection with an admitted extramarital affair in 2015, before his election, said earlier on Wednesday that he was determined to stay in office while fighting to clear his name in court.

Greitens, a former U.S. Navy SEAL elected in 2016, told a news conference in Jefferson City, the state capital, he was the victim of a “political witch hunt” stemming from a “private mistake” that had nothing to do with his job as governor.

Under mounting pressure from Missouri politicians in both parties to step aside in recent weeks, Greitens said shortly before the legislative report was made public that he would persevere.

“I will continue to serve the people of Missouri as their governor and to work for you every day,” he said. He denounced the findings of the special legislative panel as “one-sided tabloid trash gossip that was produced in a secret report.”

Greitens was indicted in February on a single felony count of invasion of privacy - an offense carrying a maximum penalty of four years in prison and $5,000 in fines.

He is accused of taking a compromising photograph of the woman in question without her consent, then making it accessible by computer to use as blackmail against any attempt she might make at disclosing their relationship.

In a statement issued after Hawley’s call for him to step down, Greitens repeated his assertion that his relationship with the woman, identified in the indictment only as K.S., was “entirely consensual,” adding that “any allegation of violence or sexual assault is false.”

He also has denied trying to blackmail the woman or engaging in any other criminal behavior to keep their months-long affair confidential.

The woman at the center of the scandal is known publicly only as a hair stylist who said she met Greitens who was a customer at the salon where she worked. She was referred to as “Witness 1” in the 24-page report from the bipartisan special committee of the Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives.

In sworn testimony to the seven-member panel cited in the document, she described her first liaison with Greitens as a menacing, “coerced” sexual encounter in his basement in which he blindfolded her and ripped off her clothes without her consent before snapping her picture, which she said he threatened to use against her if she ever went public.

“Don’t even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, I’m going to take these pictures, and I’m going to put them everywhere I can. They are going to be everywhere, and then everyone will know what a little whore you are,” she quoted him to the committee as telling her at the time.

She testified that she ultimately agreed to perform oral sex on Greitens in order to get the situation over with so she could leave, saying the interaction left her frightened, humiliated and “disgusted.” But she acknowledged consenting to several more sexual encounters over the next few months before finally insisting that they cease any further contact.

A trial for the invasion-of-privacy case is scheduled to open next month. On Tuesday, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison imposed a partial gag order on attorneys, witnesses and other parties to the criminal case.

Burlison indicated that he had no power over state legislators, who “have their jobs and their authority,” but hoped “consideration is being given to any ... defendant’s rights to have a fair trial in front of an impartial jury,” according to a transcript released by the defense.</s>(Reuters) - Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, charged with criminal invasion of privacy in connection with an admitted extramarital affair, declared on Wednesday that he intended to stay in office while fighting to clear his name in court.

At a news conference in Jefferson City, the Missouri capital, Greitens, 44, a Republican, said he was the victim of a “political witch hunt” stemming from a “private mistake” that had nothing to do with his job as governor.

The comments came less than an hour before a special committee of the Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives was set to release a report on its own investigation of the scandal.

Greitens, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who was elected in 2016, has been under pressure from politicians in both parties to step down since he was indicted, but the governor said he had no intention of resigning.

“I will continue to serve the people of Missouri as their governor and to work for you every day,” he said.

Greitens was indicted in February on a single felony count of invasion of privacy, accused of taking a compromising photograph of a woman without her consent, then making it accessible by computer for the purpose of preventing her from disclosing their sexual relationship.

The alleged offense occurred in March 2015, before he was elected.

Greitens has admitted to having an affair with the woman, identified in the indictment only as K.S., but has denied trying to blackmail her into covering it up or doing anything that was criminal.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on Tuesday imposed a gag order on attorneys, witnesses and other parties to the criminal case.

The judge said his gag order would not preclude the parties from making statements about the general nature of the case, schedules or the substance of court rulings that he had entered into the public record.

Burlison indicated that he had no power over state legislators, who “have their jobs and their authority,” but hoped “consideration is being given to any ... defendant’s rights to have a fair trial in front of an impartial jury,” according to a transcript released by the defense.</s>JEFFERSON CITY, MO - The Missouri House report concerning the investigation into Governor Eric Greitens will be released Wednesday.

The Special Committee on Oversight met again behind closed doors in the basement of the state capitol Tuesday afternoon. It was not a long meeting, about a half hour.

Democrat Gina Mitten represents Richmond Heights. She serves on the special committee and said they have been non-partisan in their work.

“Every member of this committee takes the job very seriously. We are focusing on the investigation under the parameters of the resolution and we take that very seriously and are doing our work in that regard,” said Representative Gina Mitten.

Governor Eric Greitens admitted to an affair. There are questions concerning a picture he may have taken of his mistress, whether he threatened to release it, and if he transmitted it electronically.

“I still think the appropriate thing for the governor to do is to step down because he’s not been an effective governor. In these last few weeks he’s been fighting this case,” said Representative Shamed Dogan.

Dogan is one of about a dozen Republicans who signed a petition calling for Greitens to resign. He says the mood in the legislature is somber.

“People are not expecting great things to come out in the report,” said Representative Shamed Dogan.

Democrats, like Deb Lavender, told FOX 2 that she senses a mood of concern in the halls of the capitol. The Kirkwood Democrat said, “It feels like were trying to hurry and get as much possible done before that happens.”

Both Republicans and Democrats agreed that the committee’s investigation the governor has not been leaky. Members have been effective at being secretive.
A special investigatory committee from the Missouri House of Representatives releases a report on Governor Eric Greitens's alleged invasion of privacy and sexual misconduct.