Grand jury indicts Missouri governor who admitted affair
Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on a felony charge of invasion of privacy.
According to court documents, Greitens allegedly took a nude photograph of a woman without her knowledge or consent back in March 2015. The Republican governor then allegedly transmitted the image onto a computer.
Greitens has been under fire in recent months after admitting to cheating on his wife prior to his gubernatorial run. The ex-husband of the woman Greitens conducted his extra-marital affair with told a St. Louis television station that he secretly recorded conversations with his former wife about the affair with the 43-year-old politician.
In one of those conversations, the woman said Greitens took a compromising photo of her to use as blackmail if she spoke out about that relationship.
Greitens was booked at a St. Louis jail Thursday before being released on a personal recognizance bond.
Attorney Edward L. Dowd Jr. released this statement regarding his client:
“In forty years of public and private practice, I have never seen anything like this. The charges against my client are baseless and unfounded. My client is absolutely innocent. We will be filing a motion to dismiss.”
Greitens said he made mistake but "did not commit a crime." He attacked the prosecutor, saying she is "using her office to score political points."
Missouri's Republican House leaders say they are forming a group of lawmakers to investigate Gov. Eric Greitens following his indictment on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge.
House Speaker Todd Richardson issued a statement Thursday with other House leaders saying they "will carefully examine the facts contained in the indictment and answer the question as to whether or not the governor can lead our state while a felony case moves forward."
The House has the power to initiate impeachment proceedings against a governor.
A House investigation could be the first step in that, but the statement didn't specifically mention impeachment.
The Associated Press contributed.