JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri House committee investigating Republican Gov. Eric Greitens has hired former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward “Chip” Robertson Jr. as special counsel.

Chairman Rep. Jay Barnes in a Wednesday statement said Sedalia attorney Mark Kempton, a former county prosecutor, also is helping the committee.

House Communications Director Trevor Fox says both are working pro bono. The House is reimbursing their out-of-pocket expenses.

The Republican-led House launched an investigation after a grand jury indicted Greitens on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge over allegations that he took a partially nude photograph of a woman he said he had an extramarital affair with 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.

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PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas police officer has been sentenced to 24 months of probation for groping a woman while taking her to jail.

Jesse Edward Lorenzo Davis, 22, of Carthage, Missouri, also was ordered Wednesday to register as a sex offender after pleading no contest to aggravated battery. As part of the plea, aggravated sexual battery and official misconduct charges were dropped.

Davis was fired from the Pittsburg Police Department after an investigation into the victim’s August 2017 domestic disturbance arrest.

The woman alleges in a lawsuit that she complied with the officer’s groping demands out of fear. The suit says a friend heard what happened to the woman through her phone, which was in the patrol car. The friends were connected through Facebook Messenger.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is giving Attorney General Derek Schmidt an extra week to file his legal defense for a new public school funding law because of a flaw in it.

The court on Wednesday revised its schedule for attorneys to file written arguments on education funding. Schmidt has until May 7 instead of April 30 to report on how legislators increased education funding.

The court ruled in October that the state’s current funding of more than $4 billion a year is inadequate.

Lawmakers approved legislation aimed at phasing in a $534 million increase over five years. Officials later found a flaw that lowered funding by $80 million, and Schmidt then sought extra time to file his legal defense.

Lawmakers reconvene Thursday and expect to pass a school funding fix.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) – In a brief and subdued speech to hundreds of St. Louis area police officers, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens praised law enforcement while making no reference to his own legal problems.

Greitens spoke Wednesday at an annual breakfast of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association. He told the officers that a strong majority of Missourians support police even in a time of controversies.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the governor made no mention of the two criminal indictments he faces or growing calls that he should resign. Reporters were kept at the back of the room and told they could not ask questions about the controversies.

Association officials said they asked Greitens to be keynote speaker because he has been a strong supporter of law enforcement.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Despite facing two felony charges, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will be the keynote speaker at a St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association prayer breakfast.

Wentzville Police Chief Kurt Frisz, chairman of the association, confirmed that Greitens will be speak at the Wednesday’s breakfast, which is dedicated to memorializing fallen police officers and honoring their families.

Frisz said Greitens has been a strong supporter of law enforcement and is a good choice to honor officers.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the spokesman for St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch asked St. Louis-area police chiefs in an email if they really wanted a person charged with a felony as their guest speaker.

Greitens faces charges of felony invasion of privacy and computer tampering. He has denied criminal wrongdoing in both cases

 

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An attorney for the ex-husband of a woman who had an extramarital affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has been issued a subpoena by a legislative committee concerning $100,000 in anonymous payments to the attorney’s firm.

Attorney Al Watkins on Tuesday confirmed he’s received a subpoena. He expects to meet with the committee in early May. Watkins says he’ll be “as cooperative as possible.”

Greitens is accused of two felonies in St. Louis. One accuses him of taking an unauthorized and compromising photo of the woman in 2015, before he was elected. Another accuses him of illegally obtaining a donor list from a veterans charity he founded for use in his gubernatorial campaign.

Watkins disclosed Monday that a courier delivered two $50,000 payments to his office in January, just before the governor admitted to the affair. Watkins says he was contacted by an intermediary and deduced from the conversation that the money was for the ex-husband’s legal bills.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – A judge is expected to consider a request to disqualify St. Louis prosecutors from one of the two felony cases against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in the computer data tampering case against Greitens. In that case, Greitens is accused of obtaining a charity donor list for his gubernatorial campaign without permission.

Greitens also faces a felony invasion-of-privacy charge for allegedly taking an unauthorized and compromising photo of a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015, before he was elected.

Defense lawyers asked Judge Rex Burlison to require a special prosecutor in the computer tampering case, citing the use of a private investigator in the earlier case. They say prosecutors knew William Tisaby lied under oath.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Missouri State University and its food supplier are investigating to determine how a small mouse was found in a dining hall meal this week.

The Springfield News-Leader reports freshman Miles Shelfter found the mouse Tuesday in his salad at Garst Dining Center.

University spokeswoman Suzanne Shaw said the school is working with its food service provider, Chartwells, to determine how the mouse ended up in the meal.

A food inspector was called to the university Wednesday. Chartwells said in a statement that it pulled the prepackaged, pre-washed spinach from its facilities.

Chartwells says it has also contacted its Quality Assurance team and is reviewing all pest inspection reports for the last six months. The company says it is confident the rodent came from its produce supplier

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials say the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services is on track to fall short of federal requirements for inspection of 350 nursing home facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding.

The agency’s compliance record for annual inspections has grown worse since 2015, when state employees completed surveys at nearly 80 percent of the state’s nursing facilities.

Only 35 percent were inspected in 2017 and the state is on pace to conduct less than 40 percent for 2018.

Department Secretary Tim Keck says the agency needs more inspectors to comply.

Republican Sen. Vicki Schmidt chairs the Legislature’s oversight committee on Medicaid. She says the department not being in compliance is a public safety issue.

BOLIVAR, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri evangelist won’t be invited back to a southwestern public school district as a motivational speaker after complaints he veered off-topic by talking about faith.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the Bolivar School District hired Bob Holmes to speak to students about substance abuse, bullying and suicide prevention at a February high school assembly.

A parent alleges Holmes discussed his faith during the presentation and invited students to a Christian event.

A Freedom From Religion Foundation attorney sent Bolivar Superintendent Tony Berry a letter last month recounting the parent’s concerns. The letter asks the district to take steps ensuring future assemblies don’t “contain an underlying proselytizing message.”

Attorney Craig Heidemann represents the district. He says the district didn’t intentionally promote improper religious speech and that Holmes won’t be returning.