by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican, has finally had some good news. The young political dynamo who once harbored presidential ambitions has been in the news, and not in a good way, since January when it was revealed that he had had an affair with his hairdresser, and an allegation was made that he had duct-taped the woman, semi-nude, to some exercise equipment in his basement and took a photograph of her. Then the aspiring politician supposedly threatened to make the photo public if she ever revealed their affair.
Today prosecutors in St. Louis dropped one of two felony charges against Greitens, the one related to the photo - a charge of invasion of privacy - apparently because the prosecution team was never able to acquire the photograph in question. Greitens gushed to the press that he had been "vindicated."
The other felony count still pending for Greitens involves his alleged personal use of a donor list to a veteran's charity that he founded. It remains. Also, there is a chance that the dropped charge could be refiled in the future.
This Friday the Missouri Legislature will begin a thirty-day session to study the questionable conduct of the state's governor, a process that could result in his impeachment and ultimate removal from office.
Many in the state's Republican political leadership regard Greitens as a liability and a distraction - and many also feel that his continued presence in office will negatively impact the campaign of the state's new attorney general, Josh Hawley, as he struggles to defeat Claire McCaskill for her Senate seat. McCaskill had been thought to be very vulnerable this election cycle, but the most recent polling shows her maintaining a four-point lead over Hawley.
While few doubt that Eric Greitens is already political toast, the tenacity with which he clings to the governorship may be key to keeping McCaskill in the Senate - and that makes Republicans, both state and national, all the more anxious to see him go.
Even with the minor court victory in St. Louis, life for Eric Greitens can't be much fun - especially without his duct tape!
Citizen Journalist
Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican, has finally had some good news. The young political dynamo who once harbored presidential ambitions has been in the news, and not in a good way, since January when it was revealed that he had had an affair with his hairdresser, and an allegation was made that he had duct-taped the woman, semi-nude, to some exercise equipment in his basement and took a photograph of her. Then the aspiring politician supposedly threatened to make the photo public if she ever revealed their affair.
Today prosecutors in St. Louis dropped one of two felony charges against Greitens, the one related to the photo - a charge of invasion of privacy - apparently because the prosecution team was never able to acquire the photograph in question. Greitens gushed to the press that he had been "vindicated."
The other felony count still pending for Greitens involves his alleged personal use of a donor list to a veteran's charity that he founded. It remains. Also, there is a chance that the dropped charge could be refiled in the future.
This Friday the Missouri Legislature will begin a thirty-day session to study the questionable conduct of the state's governor, a process that could result in his impeachment and ultimate removal from office.
Many in the state's Republican political leadership regard Greitens as a liability and a distraction - and many also feel that his continued presence in office will negatively impact the campaign of the state's new attorney general, Josh Hawley, as he struggles to defeat Claire McCaskill for her Senate seat. McCaskill had been thought to be very vulnerable this election cycle, but the most recent polling shows her maintaining a four-point lead over Hawley.
While few doubt that Eric Greitens is already political toast, the tenacity with which he clings to the governorship may be key to keeping McCaskill in the Senate - and that makes Republicans, both state and national, all the more anxious to see him go.
Even with the minor court victory in St. Louis, life for Eric Greitens can't be much fun - especially without his duct tape!
1 comment:
The dismissal was far short of a vindication and appears to be a well crafted strategy by the Prosecution to thwart the defense objective of fabricating reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors. When it became apparent that the defendant's team wanted to make the Prosecuting Attorney a witness in the case the only sane route remaining was for the appointment of a Special Prosecuting Attorney.
This dismissal came before jeopardy attached in the case. That means that the legal impact of everything to date in the case is a nullity. The Governor can, and most likely will, be indicted again on these charges. If anything, this allows the state more opportunity to discover where in cyber-world the digital remnants of the picture in question remain.
Young Eric blusters on confusing delay with victory. He faces at least one more charge and the House lumbers still towards the Special Session to consider his impeachment.
Bluster on Young Eric, bluster on.
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