JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens acknowledging he cheated on his wife but denying blackmail allegations (all times local):
10:35 a.m.
Two Democratic Missouri Senate leaders say allegations of extortion or threats of violence arising after Gov. Eric Greitens’ acknowledged he cheated on his wife must be investigated.
Sen. Gina Walsh of Bellefontaine Neighbors and Sen. Kiki Curls of Kansas City said in a statement Thursday that questions remain about Greitens’ affair.
The governor has denied accusations made by the woman’s ex-husband that Greitens photographed her nude and threatened to publicize the images if she spoke about their affair.
Walsh and Curls said violence against women is unacceptable and that allegations of extortion, coercion or threats must be investigated.
“People accused of these egregious acts do not get to waive off the scrutiny of law enforcement simply because they are in a position of power; and victims of these crimes deserve our full support.”
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10:20 a.m.
Missouri Senate GOP leaders say allegations against Republican Gov. Eric Greitens are “shocking and concerning.”
Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, Majority Leader Mike Kehoe and Assistant Majority Leader Bob Onder released a joint statement Thursday urging Greitens to be “honest and forthright.”
Greitens acknowledged late Wednesday that he has been “unfaithful” in his marriage, following a news report uncovering an affair with his former hairdresser.
In a separate statement, Greitens’ attorney, Jim Bennett, denied allegations made by the woman’s ex-husband that the governor threatened to expose an uncompromising photograph of her if she revealed their relationship.
Senate Democratic leaders Gina Walsh and Kiki Curls said “violence and threats against women are never acceptable” and that allegations of extortion, coercion or threats of violence must be investigated.
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10 a.m.
A hairdresser who, according to her ex-husband, was having an affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens sent the Republican an email asking him to stop booking appointments at the salon where she worked.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the email was sent Oct. 20, 2015, three weeks after Greitens filed papers formally starting his 2016 gubernatorial campaign. It was sent to the same account that Greitens listed on a website he used in the campaign.
The newspaper doesn’t say how it obtained the email.
She asked Greitens, whom she called by his first name, to “please consider all who are involved and the circumstances around us.” She said returning to the salon “isn’t fair to me, nor anyone close to us” and that she needed to “move forward.”
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9:45 a.m.
The lawyer for a man who says Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens had an affair with his now ex-wife says the FBI has contacted him several times since October 2016 about the affair.
Attorney Al Watkins said Thursday that he doesn’t know if the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation. But Watkins says the agency has spoken to him about the affair in 2015 as well as allegations that Greitens threatened to blackmail his client’s ex-wife using compromising photos if she spoke about their liaisons.
He didn’t say if the ex-husband has also heard from the FBI.
The Republican governor acknowledged late Wednesday that he was “unfaithful” in his marriage. In a separate statement, Greitens’ attorney, Jim Bennett, says there was no blackmail.
Phone and email messages left Thursday with the FBI office in St. Louis were not immediately returned.
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9:05 a.m.
A Democratic state senator in Missouri is calling for Gov. Eric Greitens to resign after the Republican acknowledged he cheated on his wife.
State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, of St. Louis, made the demand in a series of tweets Wednesday night and Thursday morning. She says Greitens has called for an end to the “culture of corruption” and that it is time for him to “walk the walk.”
She says Greitens’ resignation would “give Missouri the opportunity to restore some dignity to the governor’s office.”
A TV station reported late Wednesday that Greitens had a sexual relationship with his former hairdresser in 2015. Greitens’ wife, Sheena, said in a statement they still have “a loving marriage.”
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8.15 a.m.
The wife of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says she has “a loving marriage and an awesome family,” despite her Republican husband’s admitted infidelity before he was voted into office.
Sheena Greitens said in a statement that “anything beyond that is between us and God.”
She is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Missouri and co-director of the university’s Institute for Korean Studies.
Responding to allegations that her husband tried to blackmail the woman with whom he is alleged to have had an affair, Greitens urged “the media and those who wish to peddle gossip to stay away from me and my children.”
She and her husband also released a joint statement Wednesday acknowledging the affair and describing it as a “deeply personal mistake.”
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12:08 a.m.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens acknowledges he was “unfaithful” in his marriage but denies allegations that he blackmailed the woman he had an extramarital affair with to stay quiet.
The Republican governor and his wife released a statement Wednesday night. It came after St. Louis television station KMOV reported that Greitens had a sexual relationship with his former hairdresser in 2015. The station reported that the woman’s ex-husband alleged Greitens photographed her nude and threatened to publicize the images if she spoke about the affair.
The woman allegedly involved did not comment on the record to the station, which released its report late Wednesday after Greitens gave his State of the State speech. But her ex-husband provided a recording of her detailing a sexual encounter with Greitens and saying Greitens told her the photos would be released if she exposed the affair. She did not know she was being recorded.
Greitens’ statement with his wife, Sheena, didn’t address the affair specifically or the allegations, but in a separate statement Greitens’ attorney, Jim Bennett, said, “There was no blackmail and that claim is false.”
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