CHEAT SHEET

TOP 10 RIGHT NOW

‘DEEPLY PERSONAL MISTAKE’

Missouri Governor Accused of Blackmailing Extramarital Sex Partner

Updated 01.11.18 6:01AM ET / Published 01.11.18 12:17AM ET

Facebook/EricGreitens

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Wednesday evening admitted to having an extramarital affair after he was accused of blackmailing a woman to keep her quiet about it. The allegations surfaced in a recording provided to local news station KMOV News by the ex-husband of the unnamed woman at the center of the scandal. In the recording, the woman can be heard detailing her first alleged sexual encounter with Greitens, a former Navy SEAL who has portrayed himself as an upstanding family man. The woman alleges he blindfolded her and took a photo of her naked before threatening to circulate the image if she ever went public about the affair. “He took a picture of my wife naked as blackmail. There is no worse person,” the ex-husband told KMOV News. Greitens issued a joint statement with his wife late Wednesday admitting to having been “unfaithful” in his marriage. “This was a deeply personal mistake. Eric took responsibility, and we dealt with this together honestly and privately,” the statement said. Greitens’ lawyer has denied that the governor ever engaged in blackmail, calling the allegation about a nude picture “false.”