JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the investigation of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):
8:10 p.m.
The Missouri Legislature has called itself into a special session to consider impeaching Gov. Eric Greitens following allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of charity resources.
House and Senate leaders announced Thursday night that they had gathered petition signatures from more than three-fourths of all lawmakers in each chamber, which is the threshold required in the state constitution.
The special session will start at 6:30 p.m. May 18 — just 30 minutes after the regular session ends. It will mark the first time in Missouri history that a Legislature has called itself into a special session.
It comes as Greitens is facing two felony charges — one related to a 2015 extramarital affair and the other to using a charity donor list for his political campaign.
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7 p.m.
The Missouri House has enough signatures to call a special session that could impeach Republican Gov. Eric Greitens.
House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty told the Kansas City Star Thursday that 138 members had signed petition, more than the three-fourths threshold needed in the 165-seat chamber.
Three-fourths of the Senate would also need to agree to a special session. More than one-third of senators from both parties have already called on the governor to resign in the wake of two felony charges. A spokeswoman for the Senate president pro tem confirmed that the Senate has the petition and is collecting signatures.
Greitens faces his first criminal trial May 14 related to an invasion of privacy charge stemming from an extramarital affair he had before he took office. A House report released Wednesday also presented evidence that the governor filed false information with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
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4 p.m.
The publisher of a political publication says he paid his own money to buy audiotapes made by the ex-husband of a woman who had an affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and that he intended to use them to write a book.
Missouri Times publisher Scott Faughn, in a column Thursday, says he bought the recordings from Al Watkins, attorney for the ex-husband who secretly recorded his wife discussing the affair.
Greitens goes to trial May 14 on an invasion of privacy charge stemming from the affair.
Watkins told reporters last week he received two anonymous $50,000 payments in January and deduced they were to pay the ex-husband’s legal fees. Watkins declined comment Thursday. Faughn did not immediately respond to questions about whether he provided $50,000 or the entire $100,000.
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11 a.m.
Video cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom when Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens goes to trial later this month in St. Louis.
Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on Thursday turned down a request from a lawyer working on behalf of several media outlets. But Burlison says he will consider allowing audio and still photos.
Among other things, Burlison cited security concerns and the fact that the woman involved in the affair opposes video cameras in the courtroom.
Greitens faces trial starting May 14 on an invasion of privacy charge stemming from an extramarital affair in 2015, before he was elected. He’s accused of taking a partially nude and unauthorized photo of the woman while she was bound and blindfolded in the basement of his home.
Mark Sableman, the attorney for the media organizations that include The Associated Press, says he is disappointed in the ruling, calling video an “anti-spin antidote.”
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11 p.m. Wednesday
An attorney for a legislative committee investigating Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says the House will subpoena his campaign staffers.
Former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward “Chip” Robertson Jr.’s Wednesday pledge for more subpoenas came after an attorney for Greitens’ campaign criticized the House investigation for not doing enough to get the campaign’s side of the story.
The committee on Wednesday released a report that said Greitens used a donor list from a veterans charity for political fundraising. The committee chairman says the list was taken without permission from the charity.
Greitens campaign attorney Catherine Hanaway on Wednesday said the committee didn’t give the campaign a chance to be heard, although the House report included attorney general depositions of people who worked on the campaign at the time.
Greitens faces a felony charge of tampering with computer data related to the claims.
5p.m.
The leader of the Missouri House Democrats says Republican Gov. Eric Greitens stole from a charity for veterans and must resign or be impeached.
A report released Wednesday by a House investigatory committee says Greitens signed an agreement in 2012 not to disclose confidential information about donors to a veterans charity he founded. But the report says he later used a donor list from The Mission Continues to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign.
House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty in a Wednesday statement says Greitens is “utterly lacking in the moral authority necessary to effectively govern.” He has previously said he won’t step down.
Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson tasked the committee with making a recommendation on possible action against Greitens, but the report doesn’t draw conclusions about impeachment.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Documents show a company owned by one of Gov. Eric Greitens’ biggest financial backers spent nearly $60,000 last year on the governor’s travel.
The Kansas City Star reports financial disclosure forms filed Tuesday with the Missouri Ethics Commission also show the governor owns a company called J&J Escape LLC. Greitens used the company to buy a lakeside home in an eastern Missouri resort community.
Greitens initially vowed to save taxpayer money by not using the state plane for travel. But critics were concerned the governor could avoid disclosing his travel expenses by relying on private and campaign funds.