Greitens indicted for felony invasion of privacy

Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted yesterday by a St. Louis grand jury on a felony charge of invasion of privacy.

Greitens is accused of taking a nude photo of a woman he had an affair with in 2015 and using it to blackmail her into not speaking about the incident. In the photo, the woman was allegedly blindfolded and her hands were bound.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner last month launched a criminal investigation after the allegations became public.

Greitens was arrested and arraigned Thursday in St. Louis. The governor later was released on his own recognizance.

“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.”

In a statement on Facebook, Greitens said the charges were politically motivated. He said he would fight the charges in court.

“As I have said before, I made a personal mistake before I was governor. I did not commit a crime,” Greitens said. “With today’s disappointing and misguided political decision, my confidence in our prosecutorial system is shaken, but not broken. I know this will be righted soon.

“The people of Missouri deserve better than a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points.”

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