Missouri Governor Eric Greitens Resigns After Sexual Misconduct Allegation
Controversial Missouri Governor Eric Greitens publicly announced his resignation after being involved in a sexual misconduct allegation.
On Tuesday, May 29, the 44-year-old governor announced that he decided to end his almost 17 months of service as the governor of the state of Missouri amid the ongoing investigations about the alleged sexual assault as well as the possible violations of the campaign finance law.
According to Greitens, his resignation will take effect on Friday, June 1.
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"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," the outgoing governor emotionally said in front of office at Jefferson City.
He also claimed that while he was never perfect, he had never broken any laws or deserve that kind of treatment that he was receiving at the moment.
Last month, a 24-page report was released by the Missouri House of Representative that revealed the details of the allegations of a hair stylist who he admittedly had an affair with before he became a governor.
The New York Times reported that the stylist accused the governor of kissing and sexually touching her without her consent. He also violently slapped and spanked her and forced her to perform sexual acts on him and threatened to blackmail her with her semi-nude photos.
Greitens is currently married to Sheena Greitens since 2011, and they have two sons together. His former mistress is also married while they were having an affair.
He claimed that he already apologized to his wife for his infidelity, but he denied the claims that he was blackmailing the undisclosed woman during their affair.
The investigation also led to the probe about the potential campaign finance violations after the allegations of the governor's illegal correspondence with a non-profit organization in order to hide the identity of his political donors.
Based on the report of Kansas City Star, Greitens was able to receive $6 million in what was called a "dark money" that is meant to be used for his 2016 campaign.
He was also indicted in February this year for invasion of privacy, but the charge was dropped on May 14.
Lawmakers, including his Republican allies, pressured Greitens to step down from his post due to the controversies that were thrown at him. CNBC reported that his party was worried that the issues against him could hurt their chances of defeating the incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill in the state that President Donald Trump won over.
Because of Greiten's resignation, Lt. Gov. Mike Parson will take his place as soon as his office had been vacated.
"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," Parson said in a statement that was posted by ABC News. "This is a decision that will allow our state to heal and move forward from what has been a difficult time," he added.
