Eric Greitens Image by Getty

By Aiden Pink February 22, 2018

This is a developing story.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted Thursday afternoon on charges of felony invasion of privacy.

Greitens was being investigated after a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015 accused him of blackmailing her by taking photos of her while she was naked and bound with tape.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The husband of the woman, who has not been named by the media, released an audio recording last month of her admitting to the affair and accusing Greitens of the blackmail to prevent her from sharing her story. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner launched an investigation shortly thereafter.

“As I have stated before, it is essential for residents of the City of St. Louis and our state to have confidence in their leaders,” Gardner said in a statement. “They must know that the Office of the Circuit Attorney will hold public officials accountable in the same manner as any other resident of our city. Both parties and the people of St. Louis deserve a thorough investigation of these allegations.”

Greitens, a Republican who was elected in November 2016 in part by running on a family-values platform, admitted to the affair but denied the blackmail allegations. A number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers had called on him to resign, but Greitens said last month that he would not do so.

Greitens, the nation’s only Jewish governor, was seen as a rising star in Republican circles before the blackmail accusations. He is a former Navy SEAL and recipient of the Bronze Star.

Read more: https://forward.com/fast-forward/392601/missouri-gov-eric-greitens-says-he-wont-resign-amid-blackmail-allegations/

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount