JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on allegations against Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):
5:35 p.m.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ campaign is launching a television ad to bolster support as lawmakers consider whether to try to impeach him.
The ad cites a criminal charge against the Republican governor that was dropped and calls on people to “stand with Navy SEAL Eric Greitens.”
Federal Communications Commission records show Greitens’ campaign is spending more than $72,000 in the St. Louis market. The ad buy comes as a Missouri House panel is investigating Greitens and working to recommend whether lawmakers should try to impeach him.
St. Louis prosecutors dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy charge against Greitens last week. The charge alleged that Greitens in 2015 took a nonconsensual, at least partially nude photo of a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair. Greitens was elected governor in 2016.
He faces another charge that accuses him of misusing a charity donor list for his gubernatorial campaign.
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4:45 p.m.
A woman who has accused Gov. Eric Greitens of sexual misconduct testified to a grand jury that one of his attorneys suggested she should deny it.
The woman’s grand jury testimony was publicly read aloud Tuesday by a special legislative committee that is looking into whether to try to impeach Greitens in an attempt to remove him from office.
Greitens’ attorney Ed Dowd told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the woman’s testimony was “double hearsay” and that the governor’s lawyers never suggested what she should say.
Greitens has acknowledged having an affair but has denied allegations of violence or criminal wrongdoing. He hasn’t directly answered questions about whether he bound the woman’s hands, blindfolded her and took a photo of her while she was naked, as she claims.
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1:10 p.m.
Missouri lawmakers are publicly reading the previously secret testimony of a woman who has accused Gov. Eric Greitens of misconduct during an extramarital affair.
Members of a special House investigatory committee on Tuesday began reading aloud the transcripts of the woman’s testimony to a St. Louis grand jury that indicted Greitens on an invasion-of-privacy charge. They also plan to read the woman’s testimony taken in depositions by Greitens’ attorneys.
The criminal charge was dropped last week. But a special prosecutor is considering whether to refile that charge or others stemming from what Greitens has described as a consensual affair.
The House panel is considering whether to try to impeach Greitens in an attempt to remove him from office.
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11:45 a.m.
A Missouri legislative panel considering whether to try to impeach Gov. Eric Greitens has endorsed rules that would prohibit Greitens’ attorneys from cross-examining witnesses.
Greitens’ lawyers expressed concern Tuesday that the rules could undermine public confidence in the legislative process. The rules endorsed by the House panel still need final approval from the full chamber.
In the meantime, the House committee plans to publicly read aloud the criminal court testimony of a woman who had an affair with Greitens. The woman has accused Greitens of taking an unwanted picture of her while she was partially naked and of coercing her into sexual activity.
Her grand jury testimony and depositions have not previously been released.
Greitens has acknowledged an affair but denied criminal wrongdoing.
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10 a.m.
A St. Louis judge has continued the computer data tampering case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to July 2.
Judge Madeline Connolly issued the ruling during a brief hearing Tuesday. Jack Garvey, one of Greitens’ attorneys, says the delay is because the case is still pending before a grand jury.
The Republican governor is accused of disclosing a donor list from the veterans’ charity he founded, The Mission Continues, to his political fundraiser without the consent of the charity. The charge was filed last month in St. Louis, where the charity is based.
Greitens had been scheduled to go to trial last week on an invasion of privacy charge stemming from a 2015 affair with his St. Louis hairdresser, but prosecutors dismissed the case. A special prosecutor in Jackson County was appointed Monday to decide whether to refile that charge, which accuses Greitens of taking and transmitting a photo of the partially nude woman without her consent.
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8:40 a.m.
A woman who had an affair with Gov. Eric Greitens is standing by her account that he coerced her into unwanted sexual activity.
The woman who has been identified in court filings by her initials K.S. spoke to St. Louis television station KSDK for a story that aired Monday night.
She said she wasn’t lying while testifying that Greitens coerced her into a sexual act while she was crying and lying on the floor.
Greitens has acknowledged having a consensual affair but has denied any criminal wrongdoing.
A special prosecutor is deciding whether to refile an invasion-of-privacy charge that was dismissed last week. It accused Greitens of taking and transmitting a photo of the partially nude woman without her consent.
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5:40 a.m.
A Missouri House committee is to hold its first hearing of a special session focused on whether to try to impeach Gov. Eric Greitens.
The House investigatory committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday morning at the Capitol to discuss its rules and procedures. The meeting notice says it also could discuss documents pertinent to its investigation.
The committee has been looking into allegations of sexual misconduct, misuse of a charity donor list for political fundraising and other campaign-related allegations against the Republican governor.
It has posted meeting notices for each day from Tuesday through Friday this week.
The special legislative session began Friday and can last for 30 days.
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