Indictment of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens for felony computer tampering, 2018

For our main article on the Governor of Missouri, see Eric Greitens

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Investigations of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens

Term in office: 2017 - 2018

Next in succession: Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson (R)

Related pages Eric Greitens Governor of Missouri Governor

Eric Greitens resigned effective June 1, 2018, at 5:00 p.m., following allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of campaign information.

On April 20, 2018, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens (R) was indicted by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner for tampering with computer data. The indictment alleged that Greitens used the donor list of The Mission Continues, a charity organization he founded, without authorization for political purposes during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign. In a statement released the same day, Greitens denied the allegations and defended his work with the nonprofit.

Gardner announced on May 30, 2018, that her office was dropping the felony computer tampering charges against Greitens. A spokeswoman for Gardner's office said the prosecutor and Greitens' defense team struck a deal in which Greitens would resign if the charges were dropped. Greitens' attorney, Jim Martin, said the case would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it could not be re-filed.

Missouri legislators convened a special session on May 18, 2018, to consider impeaching the governor. The decision to convene was made after 138 House members and 29 Senators signed a petition calling for the governor's impeachment. The session adjourned on June 11, 2018, ending the House investigation into the governor.

Timeline of events

• April 17, 2018: Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) said his office found evidence that Greitens illegally used a charity donor list for political fundraising.
• April 20, 2018: St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner indicted Greitens for felony computer tampering
• April 27, 2018: Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem rejected a request from Greitens' legal team for a restraining order against Hawley and refused to appoint a special prosecutor.
• May 2, 2018: House committee released official report related to felony computer tampering case.
• May 3, 2018: Legislators call for special session to consider impeachment.
• May 18, 2018: Legislature convened special session to consider impeachment proceedings.
• May 29, 2018:
  • Judge Jon Beetem ruled that A New Missouri, a nonprofit that supported Greitens, provide documents to the House special investigative committee.
  • Greitens announced resignation from office, effective June 1, 2018.
• May 30, 2018: St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner dropped felony computer tampering charges.
• June 1, 2018: Greitens' resignation from office took effect.
• June 11, 2018: Legislature adjourns special session, ending House investigation.

Indictment for felony computer tampering

Background

The Mission Continues describes itself as a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that "empowers veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact." Greitens founded The Mission Continues in 2007 and left in 2014.

The Associated Press reported in October 2016 that Greitens raised $2 million for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign from donors who also contributed to the charity and questioned whether Greitens used a charity donor list for political purposes.

A complaint filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission said the list was an in-kind donation that Greitens failed to report on campaign disclosure forms. Greitens signed a consent decree in April 2017 saying his campaign received the list as an in-kind donation from then-campaign manager Danny Laub on March 1, 2015, but failed to report its use. Amended campaign filings showed the list, valued at $600. The Mission Continues denied giving Greitens' campaign the list.

Accusations of illegally obtaining donor list

On April 17, 2018, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) announced that his office found evidence of wrongdoing related to The Mission Continues. Hawley accused Greitens of obtaining an electronic charity donor list without permission from the charity and said his office had evidence that Greitens used the list for political fundraising.

"If proven, these acts could amount to the unauthorized taking and use of property—in this case electronic property. Under Missouri law, this is known as computer tampering and given the value of the list in question, it is a felony," Hawley said.

Hawley indicated that his office had given the evidence to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who had the authority to charge Greitens.

Greitens' attorney Jim Martin denied the accusations, saying, "The Attorney General held a completely frivolous and inappropriate press conference on a non-issue."

Indictment

On April 20, 2018, Greitens was indicted by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner on charges of tampering with computer data. The indictment alleged that Greitens used the donor list of The Mission Continues without authorization for political purposes during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign.

Greitens' lawyers filed a motion for a restraining order against Hawley. According to KCTV/The Associated Press, the defense argued that because Hawley called for Greitens' resignation, he should not be allowed to investigate the governor.

In an April 26 hearing before Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, Greitens' attorney Jim Bennett said Hawley had a personal interest in calling for Greitens' resignation because of Hawley's campaign for the U.S. Senate. Bennett argued, "It's one thing to be the attorney general exercising your duties. It's another thing to be doing that at the exact same time you have a personal interest in attaining a different situation, which would be related to that Senate race." He asked for the judge to appoint a special independent counsel.

State Solicitor General John Sauer, representing the attorney general's office, argued that Hawley's call for Greitens' resignation was part of the attorney general's official role and said that claims of personal interest were "unsupported by evidence."

Judge Beetem ruled against the restraining order on April 27, saying that rules about attorneys' professional conduct apply to criminal court cases, not investigations, and noted that Attorney General Hawley was not prosecuting any cases against Greitens. Beetem also refused to appoint a special prosecutor.

On May 23, attorneys argued over whether Greitens' gubernatorial campaign and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group called A New Missouri should have to comply with legislative subpoenas. House attorney Mark Kempton said the subpoenas would allow the House to see if there was evidence of campaign contribution violations, particularly regarding potential coordination between Greitens, his campaign committee, and A New Missouri. Greitens' attorney Catherine Hanaway argued for the dismissal of the subpoena requests. Judge Jon Beetem did not issue a ruling.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem issued a ruling on May 29 ordering A New Missouri to provide documents, communications, and expenditures to the Missouri House special committee.

Greitens' attorney Catherine Hanaway filed a motion on June 1, 2018, to block the House special committee from receiving documents from A New Missouri. Hanaway argued that since Greitens was no longer governor, the committee no longer had the authority to demand the documents. Judge Beetem granted the motion.

State attorneys drop charges

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced on May 30, 2018, that her office was dropping the felony computer tampering charges against Greitens. "It is time for us to move on," she said in a statement. "Sometimes pursuing charges is not the right thing to do for our city or our state."

She disagreed with Greitens' statement that the allegations and investigations brought too much pain and difficulty: "Contrary to Mr. Greitens' past statements, there was no witch hunt, no plans to bring pain to him or his family. Quite the contrary, the consequences Mr. Greitens has suffered he brought upon himself by his actions, his statements, his decisions, his ambition and pursuit for power."

Gardner's spokeswoman, Susan Ryan, told reporters that the prosecutor and Greitens' defense team struck a deal in which Greitens would resign if the charges were dropped. Greitens' attorney, Jim Martin, said the case would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it could not be re-filed.

On June 5, 2018, Attorney General Josh Hawley's (R) office found that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's office could release the full agreement made between state prosecutors and former Gov. Eric Greitens. Gardner's office release an unredacted copy of the agreement on June 6, 2018. In the agreement, Greitens' legal team said they found the state had "sufficient evidence to constitute a submissible case." Another clause in the agreement stated that it would remain unredacted unless Greitens committed a new offense or engaged in public commentary. In a letter to Greitens' attorney, Ed Dowd, Gardner wrote that Greitens made public comments when he denied wrongdoing while resigning from office. Greitens' public statement was made on May 29, while the agreement was dated May 30. Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for Gardner's office, said the defense had agreed to the clause prior to signing the agreement and Greitens' comments.

Investigation by Missouri House of Representatives

On May 2, 2018, a special committee of the Missouri House of Representatives released a report on Greitens' use of a charity donor list during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign. The report indicated that in 2012 Greitens signed an agreement with The Mission Continues not to disclose the identity, personal information, or contact information of donors and that in January 2015, Greitens' assistant sent campaign aides a list containing this information and other details of individuals, companies, and nonprofits that had donated $1,000 or more to the charity. The report said Greitens used the list, which was created in May 2014 when Greitens was stepping down as CEO of the charity, to fundraise for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign. The report also said that campaign aide Daniel Laub testified he was tricked into being falsely listed on an ethics commission settlement as giving the donor list to the campaign.

The committee issued a subpoena for documents and testimony from Greitens' campaign committee; a former campaign manager, Austin Chambers; and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group called A New Missouri, which has been supportive of Greitens' agenda, according to Fox 2 Now. The subpoenas were issued after a Greitens' attorney said the panel failed to seek input from the governor's legal team before releasing a report on his use of the charity donor list.

The House committee announced on May 15, 2018, that it would seek testimony from Greitens' policy director, Will Scharf. Scharf worked as a campaign adviser to Republican gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway in 2016. Rep. Jay Barnes (R), the committee chair, said he believed Scharf and the Hanaway campaign had evidence "that the Greitens campaign was using shell companies to hide donors."

In July 2016, Scharf exchanged emails related to Greitens' alleged attempts to conceal donors with Michael Hafner, who at the time worked for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Brunner. The emails alleged that two companies—White Impala LLC and ELX83 LLC—were created to conceal the identity of campaign donors, which is illegal under state law. The companies were formed in December 2015 and had donated a combined $30,000 to Greitens' campaign at the time the email was sent.

Hanaway, an attorney for Greitens as well as Scharf, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

“

It was perfectly legal for all campaigns to receive contributions from LLCs. At the time that Will Scharf sent this email, he was working for my campaign and searching for any issue we could use to win. He did not find nor has anyone else found that the owners of these LLCs were prohibited from contributing to Missouri campaigns.

”

Reactions to the indictment for felony computer tampering

Reactions to attorney general accusation

• Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard (R) called for Greitens' resignation following Attorney General Josh Hawley's announcement. In addition to calling on the governor to resign, Richard said he would like to "immediately start impeachment proceedings."

• Greitens responded to Richard's call by reiterating that he would not resign:

“

I will not be resigning the Governor's office. In three weeks, this matter will go to a court of law—where it belongs and where the facts will prove my innocence. Until then, I will do what the people of Missouri sent me here to do: to serve them and work hard on their behalf.

”

Reactions to the indictment

• Greitens denied the allegations and defended his work with the nonprofit.

• House Minority Leader Gail Beatty (D) said in a statement, "One way or another, Eric Greitens’ short tenure as Missouri governor is about to end. The only person who doesn’t understand that is Eric Greitens. Since he will not resign, the House of Representatives must immediately begin impeachment proceedings. This is far too important to delay to special session a month or more from now."

Reactions to the committee report

• House Minority Leader Gail Beatty (D) called on Greitens to resign or be impeached, saying the governor is "utterly lacking in the moral authority necessary to effectively govern."

• House Speaker Todd Richardson (R) asked the committee to provide recommendations on actions that could be taken against Greitens.

• Greitens' attorney Michael Adams said before the report's release that the campaign "worked in good faith with the ethics commission for months to resolve this matter to the ethics commission’s satisfaction. Any notion that the campaign — through an adviser, an attorney, or anyone else — would intentionally mislead the ethics commission is simply false."

• Another Greitens attorney, Catherine Hanaway, said the report was biased and inaccurate because the committee did not talk to anyone from the campaign during their investigative process.

Accusations of filing false campaign finance disclosure reports

The Kansas City Star reported in April 2018 that Attorney General Josh Hawley's office gave evidence to the Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson and to the Missouri House's Special Investigative Committee on Oversight alleging that Greitens knowingly provided the Missouri Ethics Commission with false campaign finance disclosure reports. The evidence was related to claims of false financial disclosure forms involving a donor list from The Mission Continues that Greitens allegedly received and used without permission. Greitens said in amended campaign filings that his campaign received the list from campaign manager Danny Laub in March 2015. Laub said he was falsely listed as giving the donor list to the campaign.

According to The Kansas City Star, Hawley's evidence said Greitens' campaign did not receive the list from Laub, the campaign did not receive the list in March 2015, and Greitens was aware his campaign filed false reports to the ethics commission. A report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch claimed the governor received the list in January 2015 from a former assistant.

Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson announced on May 18, 2018, that he would not pursue a criminal case against the governor: "After due consideration, I have decided not to file the criminal charge suggested by the AGO. My office has no further comment on this matter."

Richardson faced criticism for his decision, including questions of conflict-of-interest since Richardson's wife works for state Rep. Bill White, a Republican who supported Greitens. House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D) also released a statement criticizing Richardson's decision: "Two years ago, Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Richardson aggressively prosecuted a group of elderly black pastors for singing hymns in the Senate. Today, he announced that he can’t be bothered to pursue charges against a Republican governor accused of actual crimes. Mr. Richardson clearly has difficulty assessing threats to the integrity of state government."

Special session to consider impeachment

See also: 2018 Missouri legislative session

In a historic move, Missouri legislators called for a special session to consider impeaching then-Gov. Eric Greitens (R). It was the first time the legislature used its authority to call itself into special session, which requires the approval of three-quarters (¾) of each chamber (123 of 163 House members and 26 of 34 senators). The decision to convene was made after 138 House members and 29 Senators signed a petition calling for the governor's impeachment.

May 18, 2018

Legislature opens special session
The legislature convened its special session with procedural actions. The House filed proposed rules for the proceedings which would:

• allow hearings to be open to the public.
• deny the governor's attorneys' request to call or cross-examine witnesses. Greitens' lawyers said the rules would undermine public confidence in the process. Rep. Don Phillips (R), committee vice chairman, said the attorneys had already had time to cross-examine witnesses and their request was "probably just an attempt to almost filibuster the committee."
• expand the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight's membership from seven members to 10 members.
• authorize the special committee to decide whether to file articles of impeachment.

May 21, 2018

Treasurer announces monitor of governor's impeachment attorneys
Missouri Treasurer Eric Schmitt (R) announced on May 21, 2018, that he was monitoring the governor's hiring of two impeachment attorneys. The treasurer's announcement came after Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) and State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) expressed concern.

Hawley argued Greitens could not hire outside counsel without permission from the AG's office, which Greitens did not have. In a letter to the state auditor, Hawley wrote that the attorneys "purport[ed] to represent the Office of Governor at taxpayer expense [and] are acting without authority under Missouri law." He also argued that the state constitution designated the attorney general as the presumptive legal counsel for state executives. Greitens' office responded that "the Governor's adversaries would no doubt like to deprive the Governor's office of counsel." Spokeswoman Parker Briden said state law allowed the governor to hire outside counsel without the attorney general's approval.

Galloway questioned whether taxpayer dollars were being used to pay for the governor's personal representation. The attorneys in question, Edward Greim and Ross Garber, said they represented the office of the governor—not Greitens personally. According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the attorneys were being paid a combined $660 per hour.

May 22, 2018

House special committee publicly reads testimony of Greitens' accuser
The House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight spent seven hours reading aloud a transcript of testimony from K.S., Greitens' accuser, to a St. Louis grand jury. The testimony, provided by the office of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, included an accusation that one of Greitens' attorneys told K.S. to deny the allegations. Ed Dowd, a member of Greitens' legal team, called the testimony "double hearsay" and denied the allegation. Greitens' campaign released a television ad citing the dropped criminal charges, blaming Democratic leaders and fake news for the allegations, and asking constituents to "stand with Navy SEAL Eric Greitens."

May 23, 2018

House special committee hears testimony from Missouri Times owner Scott Faughn
The House committee continued to read aloud the transcripts of a deposition by Greitens' attorneys with K.S., his accuser. The attorneys asked K.S. about a number of topics, including piercings, instances of lying, and details of sexual encounters with the governor.

The committee heard testimony from Missouri Times owner Scott Faugh, who said he paid $120,000 to Al Watkins, an attorney representing the ex-husband of K.S. Faughn said $100,000 of the payment was to purchase audio recordings for use in a book about Greitens and the remaining $20,000 was for Watkins' legal services. Faughn said the money was his own but refused to answer questions about how he got the money. Committee Chairman Rep. Jay Barnes (R) expressed disbelief: "No one believes that it's your own money. That's a lot of cash."

Following Faughn's testimony, Greitens' attorneys asked the House committee to issue subpoenas to Jeff Smith, Ken Poteet, and Sterling Bank, who were all involved in tax credits for affordable housing. They also asked the committee to subpoena Faughn's phone records, bank records, and communications with St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Greitens' attorneys suggested Faughn was connected to the tax credit industry, which was hurt by Greitens' policies and may have provided the funds, arguing, "Mr. Faughn has direct connections with a group that has been very hurt and upset that their tax credits have been taken away."

The committee also questioned Al Watkins, the attorney of K.S.' ex-husband. Watkins testified that he received the $120,000 payment from Faughn, who told him it was from an out-of-state Republican donor. Watkins also said his family was threatened when news of the affair broke and $10,000 of the payment was for protection. Watkins did not say who threatened his family.

Barnes said on the record that he first learned of the payments to Watkins during an interview with the FBI. Barnes explained, "In the course of that interview, (I) was asked questions about did I know that you had received a cash payment. I want it to be known that I did learn of it from the FBI." Barnes' admission followed a CNN report released May 21 that cited two anonymous Republican lawmakers who also said they had been questioned by the FBI about Greitens.

May 24, 2018

Lawmakers, attorney admit to speaking to the FBI about Greitens
Al Watkins, the attorney representing K.S.' ex-husband, told the House special committee that he had given a recording of K.S. discussing her affair with Greitens to the FBI in January or February 2017. Watkins also said he gave the FBI photos of cash he received in January 2018 from Scott Faughn, owner of The Missouri Times. A spokesperson for the FBI did not say if Greitens was under investigation.

Greitens' attorney Catherine Hanaway argued that Committee Chairman Rep. Jay Barnes (R) was a material witness in the House investigation because he received an audio recording of K.S. speaking about her sexual encounter with the governor. An attorney for the House said Hanaway was attempting to distract the public from the investigation.

May 25, 2018

House Committee issues subpoena to Greitens
House Special Committee Chairman Rep. Jay Barnes (R) announced that the committee issued a subpoena to the governor. "We need Mr. Greitens to appear and testify under oath before this committee. There have been reports that he's been talking to members of the House about various events. And, if he is capable of doing that, he is capable of coming to this committee and testifying under oath."

The subpoena asked Greitens to testify on June 4. Michelle Nasser, one of the governor's attorneys, said she did not know if the governor would comply.

The committee also issued a subpoena to K.S., asking for her testimony on June 5.

The special committee canceled hearings scheduled the week of June 4 after Greitens resigned, effective June 1, 2018.

May 29, 2018

Committee hears testimony from Republican consultant
The House Special Committee heard testimony from Michael Hafner, a Republican consultant. Hafner said he was paid more than $500 for political work for Greitens in 2014. Greitens formally launched an exploratory campaign committee in February 2015. Under state law, candidates are required to form committees once they raise or spend more than $500.

June 1, 2018

Greitens signs 77 laws before leaving office
Greitens signed 77 bills into law before leaving office. One of the 77 bills makes it a crime to threaten to share sexual images of an individual without their consent. Under the law, threatening an individual with sharing sexual images without their consent is a felony.

June 11, 2018

Legislature adjourns special session
Lawmakers adjourned the special session, dissolving the House Special Investigative Committee and effectively ending the investigation into former Gov. Eric Greitens (R). The committee had not met since June 1, 2018, the day of Greitens' resignation, and on June 6, 2018, the House withdrew a subpoena for documents from Greitens' campaign committee and from a group supportive of Greitens called A New Missouri.

Greitens' resignation

Greitens announced on May 29, 2018, that he would resign effective June 1, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. In a press conference, Greitens denied legal wrongdoing. He said the scrutiny was causing too much pain and difficulty:

“

This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family. Millions of dollars of mounting legal bills, endless personal attacks designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends. Legal harassment of colleagues, friends and campaign workers and it's clear that for the forces that oppose us, there is no end in sight. I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love.

”

Responses to the resignation

• Then-Lt. Gov. Mike Parson (R): "With Governor Greitens’ decision to resign from office, he has put the best interests of our state and all Missourians at the forefront where they belong. This is a decision that will allow our state to heal and move forward from what has been a difficult time."
• State House Speaker Todd Richardson (R), Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr (R), and Majority Leader Rob Vescovo (R): "We believe the Governor has put the best interest of Missourians first today by choosing to resign. ... This is a serious and solemn occasion that reminds us that our state and our duty are bigger than any one person or party."
• State Rep. Kathie Conway (R): "There’s not going to be this constant battle going on, this dragging people through the mud. But I think that there’s still so much healing to do."
• U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R): "The governor made the best decision for his family and the state. I look forward to Gov. Parson's leadership and will do everything I can be to be helpful."
• Missouri Senate Democratic Leader Gina Walsh: "Innocent people don't resign and criminals don't get let off the hook simply because they cut and run. Missourians deserve to know what laws were broken, what lies were told, and how deep the corruption went."
• Missouri Democratic Party Chair Stephen Webber: "While corruption ended Eric Greitens' career as a politician, his schemes to slash workers' pay and rip healthcare away from vulnerable seniors continue to hurt Missourians. Missouri Democrats will continue to work to undo the damage done by Eric Greitens and his Republican cronies."
• Attorney General Josh Hawley (R): "Greitens has done the right thing today. I wish incoming Governor Mike Parson well, and stand ready to assist him in his transition. This Office's work for the people of Missouri goes forward."
• Missouri resident Mark Johnson: "I'm disappointed. I had no complaints. He was going after the right things like education."
• Missouri resident Sondra Lock: "I believe some of what he did was wrong, as far as the affair. But that's between him and his family. ... I liked him as governor. I voted for him. I thought he was doing good."
• Missouri resident Cynthia Baird: "I admire the fact he was a Navy SEAL and I'm sure he did great things. But that don't qualify him to be governor. ... And he ran on a platform for cleaning out corruption. Yes, sir. And he turned out to be totally corrupt."

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