Missouri governor admits extramarital affair

Republican Gov. Eric Greitens of Missouri on Wednesday confessed to having an extramarital affair before he took office but denied accusations of blackmailing his mistress. KMOV-TV in St. Louis reported Greitens admitted to the affair after a monthslong investigation into the governor’s past conduct. KMOV obtained recordings of the woman, who remains anonymous, claiming Greitens tried to blackmail her into keeping their March 2015 affair quiet. The woman’s ex-husband provided KMOV with the recordings, and according to him, Greitens took photographs of the woman and threatened to release them if she told anyone about the affair. Greitens, 43, divorced his first wife in 2003 and remarried in 2011. He won election in 2016. “A few years ago, before Eric was elected governor, there was a time when he was unfaithful in our marriage,” Greitens and his wife Sheena said in a joint statement. “This was a deeply personal mistake. Eric took responsibility, and we dealt with this together honestly and privately.” Sheena Greitens released a separate statement denying her husband ever attempted to blackmail his mistress. News of Greitens’ affair broke hours after he delivered his first State of the State address. Many saw Greitens as a rising star in the Republican Party and a possible presidential candidate.