by Pa Rock
Missouri Citizen Journalist
The GOP, America's party of 'family values," has just taken it on the shins again, this time in Missouri.
A couple of years ago when Eric Greitens announced that he planned to run for governor of Missouri as a Republican, the young and dynamic candidate who had never held public office before coughed up three qualifications. Greitens stated that he was "a Navy SEAL, a native Missourian, and, most importantly, a proud husband and father." Indeed, Greitens was so proud of his status as a family man that he dispensed with the standard "head shot" that Missouri governors traditionally place in state office buildings, and instead went with an outdoor photo of himself, his wife, and their two young sons - a toddler and an infant.
Should Governor Greitens be around long enough to tire of that official family photo, he can now replace it with a new one - his mug shot that was officially snapped yesterday afternoon as the governor was being booked into custody at the Justice Center in St. Louis.
Greitens was indicted by a grand jury yesterday on a felony invasion of privacy charge, the alleged result of his taping a naked woman to a piece of exercise equipment, blindfolding her, and then taking a photograph of his victim. According to the woman's husband, Greitens then threatened to make the photo public if the woman ever told anyone about their affair.
The lady who was the victim of Greitens' bizarre behavior was his former hairdresser.
Greitens and his wife, University of Missouri professor Dr. Sheena Geritens, both acknowledged the governor's extra-marital affair last month after it was reported in the press, and they said they were working through their marital issues. The affair occurred in 2015, the year before Greitens was elected governor of the show-me state.
Governor Greitens, who looked contrite in his mug shot, did manage to get his mad on and channel his inner-Donald Trump in a statement to the press after he was released on his own recognizance. Greitens snarled that Kim Gardner, the prosecutor who brought the case before the grand jury, was a "reckless liberal." In parts of Missouri, particularly the rural sections, being called a "liberal" is somewhat akin to being labeled a child molester.
The embattled governor is also reported to be the subject of an FBI investigation related to the financing of his campaign, and the Missouri House of Representatives is beginning its own investigation into the hairdresser scandal - an investigation that could ultimately lead to his impeachment and removal from office. The Missouri legislature is solidly controlled by the Republican Party, but Greitens, himself a Republican, has offended several members of the legislature and his party as he sought to position himself as a reformer. There appear to be many in the legislature on both sides of the aisle who would like to see him go.
Lt. Governor Mike Parson, a Republican and former law enforcement officer, seems to be more aligned with the conservative interests of the state's more traditional Republican lawmakers.
Greitens apparently thought of himself as a potential presidential candidate before this scandal dashed those hopes. He had purchased a web domain that promoted "Eric Greitens for President."
For Governor Eric Greitens of Missouri there appear to be no good options. He can doggedly hold onto his seat and try to work with a legislature and press that are no longer his fanboys - and then likely face impeachment - or he can resign in disgrace. He can also fight it out in court and pin his hopes for political survival on a favorable outcome. The downside of a trial is, of course, that it reminds the public daily of the allegations.
As we say out here in the Missouri backwoods, this governor is sitting squarely "between a rock and a hard place," and his situation is unlikely to improve any time soon.
Hypocrisy looms large in the party of "family values."
Missouri Citizen Journalist
The GOP, America's party of 'family values," has just taken it on the shins again, this time in Missouri.
A couple of years ago when Eric Greitens announced that he planned to run for governor of Missouri as a Republican, the young and dynamic candidate who had never held public office before coughed up three qualifications. Greitens stated that he was "a Navy SEAL, a native Missourian, and, most importantly, a proud husband and father." Indeed, Greitens was so proud of his status as a family man that he dispensed with the standard "head shot" that Missouri governors traditionally place in state office buildings, and instead went with an outdoor photo of himself, his wife, and their two young sons - a toddler and an infant.
Should Governor Greitens be around long enough to tire of that official family photo, he can now replace it with a new one - his mug shot that was officially snapped yesterday afternoon as the governor was being booked into custody at the Justice Center in St. Louis.
Greitens was indicted by a grand jury yesterday on a felony invasion of privacy charge, the alleged result of his taping a naked woman to a piece of exercise equipment, blindfolding her, and then taking a photograph of his victim. According to the woman's husband, Greitens then threatened to make the photo public if the woman ever told anyone about their affair.
The lady who was the victim of Greitens' bizarre behavior was his former hairdresser.
Greitens and his wife, University of Missouri professor Dr. Sheena Geritens, both acknowledged the governor's extra-marital affair last month after it was reported in the press, and they said they were working through their marital issues. The affair occurred in 2015, the year before Greitens was elected governor of the show-me state.
Governor Greitens, who looked contrite in his mug shot, did manage to get his mad on and channel his inner-Donald Trump in a statement to the press after he was released on his own recognizance. Greitens snarled that Kim Gardner, the prosecutor who brought the case before the grand jury, was a "reckless liberal." In parts of Missouri, particularly the rural sections, being called a "liberal" is somewhat akin to being labeled a child molester.
The embattled governor is also reported to be the subject of an FBI investigation related to the financing of his campaign, and the Missouri House of Representatives is beginning its own investigation into the hairdresser scandal - an investigation that could ultimately lead to his impeachment and removal from office. The Missouri legislature is solidly controlled by the Republican Party, but Greitens, himself a Republican, has offended several members of the legislature and his party as he sought to position himself as a reformer. There appear to be many in the legislature on both sides of the aisle who would like to see him go.
Lt. Governor Mike Parson, a Republican and former law enforcement officer, seems to be more aligned with the conservative interests of the state's more traditional Republican lawmakers.
Greitens apparently thought of himself as a potential presidential candidate before this scandal dashed those hopes. He had purchased a web domain that promoted "Eric Greitens for President."
For Governor Eric Greitens of Missouri there appear to be no good options. He can doggedly hold onto his seat and try to work with a legislature and press that are no longer his fanboys - and then likely face impeachment - or he can resign in disgrace. He can also fight it out in court and pin his hopes for political survival on a favorable outcome. The downside of a trial is, of course, that it reminds the public daily of the allegations.
As we say out here in the Missouri backwoods, this governor is sitting squarely "between a rock and a hard place," and his situation is unlikely to improve any time soon.
Hypocrisy looms large in the party of "family values."
1 comment:
The Dowd Bennett law firm representing Greitens has a novel legal theory. They think the statute does not apply to perverts who blindfold and physically restrain their nude or partially nude consensual lovers. The law firm's position is that this is a peeping Tom statute only.
This raises the strong possibility for an appeal. Problems with the theory include reading the statute. If Missouri wanted to only write a peeping Tom law it would have included that condition in the actual language of the law. Missouri did not do that.
Other issues at issue include whether the hairdresser/lover lady gave consent to the photograph in question. Consent has to be specific. Can a blindfolded and bound person consent to a photograph they cannot see being taken? That is a question of law the judge will rule on at trial and can be raised on appeal. The trier of fact, either a judge or jury, will also weigh in on the evidence regarding consent. Typically the standard of review in an appellate court is the sufficiency of evidence. So what she agreed to, when consent ended, and if consent was mutual and voluntary can drag the sordid details of this case into the court of public opinion for more than a year.
I am shocked that Dowd Bennett has not put a gag on Eric Greitens and his attempts to politicize this indictment by making accusations at the duly elected Prosecuting Attorney of the City Saint Louis, Missouri. Remember Saint Louis as a city has the same legal footing as a county in the Show Me State. The attacks by Greitens publicists actually attack the Grand Jury that issued the indictment.
That young man is in a hole and he needs to put his shovel down.
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