ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Latest on Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):
2:10 p.m.
A nonprofit organization formed to fund Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ legal defense says it neither raised nor spent money in its first month of existence.
The Kansas City Star reports that ERG Defense Fund was founded by Greitens’ allies in early March. The initials ERG stand for the Republican governor’s full name - Eric Robert Greitens.
Papers filed Tuesday with the Internal Revenue Service showed no financial activity for the first quarter of 2018, which ended March 31.
Greitens was indicted in February on one count of felony invasion of privacy connected to an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser in 2015, before he was elected.
A separate investigation by the Missouri attorney general’s office cites evidence of a potential crime related to Greitens’ use of a charity donor list for political purposes. It will be up to the St. Louis circuit attorney to decide whether to file a charge since the charity, The Mission Continues, is based in St. Louis.
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12:25 p.m.
The Missouri House speaker says a special investigatory committee will move “as expeditiously” but “as thoroughly” as possible as it decides whether to recommend impeachment of Republican Gov. Eric Greitens.
House Speaker Todd Richardson also said Thursday that a “substantial” number of Republican lawmakers already have signed a petition to call the Legislature into a special session if that’s necessary to consider impeachment proceedings.
The House panel released a report last week containing testimony from a woman who says Greitens was physically aggressive during an unwanted sexual encounter in 2015.
The panel is still investigating separate claims that Greitens took a donor list without permission from a veterans’ charity and used it for his gubernatorial campaign.
The House investigation is separate from a felony indictment against Greitens in St. Louis.
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10 a.m.
A St. Louis judge has rejected a request from Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to dismiss a felony criminal indictment, but sanctioned prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence as soon as they should have.
Circuit Judge Rex Burlison announced his ruling in a court session Thursday.
Greitens was indicted in February on a charge of invasion of privacy. He’s accused of taking a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an affair in 2015, before he was elected. Greitens has admitted to the affair but denied criminal wrongdoing.
Attorneys for Greitens say a private investigator hired by the prosecutor has repeatedly lied to the court. They also allege that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner knew he lied, and that her office has withheld evidence from the defense.
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11:20 p.m.
A St. Louis judge is set to rule on a request from Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to dismiss a felony criminal indictment due to mistakes by the prosecutor and an investigator.
Circuit Judge Rex Burlison has said he will announce his ruling in a court session Thursday.
Greitens was indicted in February on a charge of invasion of privacy. He’s accused of taking a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an affair in 2015, before he was elected. Greitens has admitted to the affair but denied criminal wrongdoing.
Attorneys for Greitens contend that a private investigator hired by the prosecutor has repeatedly lied to the court. They also allege that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner knew he lied, and that her office has withheld evidence from the defense.
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