Missouri governor denies abuse detailed in legislative report

A report issued Wednesday by a Missouri legislative committee has sparked calls for Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, to resign amid a monthslong sex scandal that could lead to his impeachment. The report includes testimony from the woman Greitens admitted having an affair with before he became governor. He called the relationship consensual, but the woman claimed Greitens abused and intimidated her during their encounters. Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, the Republican candidate running for Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill’s U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, has called for the governor to step down immediately. McCaskill also has called for Greitens’ prompt resignation. The governor dismissed the legislative investigation and its conclusion as “a political witch hunt” and equated it to attacks against President Donald Trump. The Missouri House will now consider impeachment proceedings, which could begin in a special session slated for May 18. In a related criminal case, Greitens goes on trial May 14 to face felony invasion of privacy charges for allegedly taking and transmitting a partially nude photo of the woman without her consent. Greitens, who is married, admitted to the affair after the woman’s ex-husband gave a St. Louis television station an audio recording of her telling him about the photo.