Politics

Charges Dropped Against Embattled Governor Eric Greitens

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Robert Donachie Capitol Hill and Health Care Reporter
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St. Louis prosecutors dropped a federal invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Monday, but they intend to re-file in the case.

Greitens’ lawyer was reportedly going to call St. Louis circuit attorney Kimberly Gardner to testify as a witness in the case, which made prosecutors back off the case, The New York Times reported.

“A defendant who wishes to call a prosecutor as a witness must demonstrate a compelling and legitimate reason to do so,” Gardner spokeswoman Susan Ryan said Monday. “Governor Greitens has produced no compelling reason to include the Circuit Attorney as a witness for any purpose. The defense team knows that the tactic of endorsing the Circuit Attorney as a witness is part of their ongoing effort to distract people from the defendant’s actions.”

The governor admitted to having an affair with a woman who used to be his hairdresser, in early January 2018. Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, reportedly took a picture of her as a form of blackmail in case she ever tried to go public. The photograph was the foundation of the prosecution’s case.

Greitens filed a motion claiming the hair dresser may have dreamed up a compromising photo, The Daily Caller News Foundation exclusively reported in early April. (RELATED: Greitens’ Side Piece DREAMED Up Photo)

The governor has other problems. He is also undergoing federal charges that he tampered with computer data. (RELATED: Eric Greitens Wife Stalker) 

The Missouri state House of Representative is expected to have a vote on Greitens’ impeachment from office Friday. The state Senate would then appoint a panel of seven judges to carry out the impeachment trials. If he is impeached, it would mark the first instance in the history of the state.

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