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The Latest: Panel investigating Greitens to meet privately

Original Publication Date March 06, 2018 - 7:56 AM

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Latest on allegations involving Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):

6:25 p.m.

A Missouri House committee investigating Gov. Eric Greitens is set to hold a closed meeting at the Jefferson City Police Department.

The panel voted unanimously Tuesday to close the Wednesday hearing. There was no discussion.

House Speaker Todd Richardson formed the panel in response to the fellow Republican governor's recent grand jury indictment on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge stemming from a 2015 extramarital affair.

The chairman of the committee, Republican Rep. Jay Barnes, during the panel's first meeting Wednesday said the goal is to uncover the facts. He said keeping all the proceedings open would undermine that, and he said they have a responsibility to protect the identities of witnesses.

Barnes also asked a crowd of reporters at the hearing to respect the privacy of witnesses. He said the panel will issue a public report and records after it's finished, but told reporters that efforts to speak with members before then will be a waste of time.

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5:15 p.m.

A legal expense fund has been created to help cover the costs of staff for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens who have been subpoenaed by a St. Louis grand jury investigating the governor.

Online state records show that the Missouri Legal Expense Fund was created Tuesday by a Kansas City law firm to raise money for the legal costs of current or former executive branch employees.

A similar fund already has been set up on behalf of Greitens following his indictment on an invasion-of-privacy charge stemming from an extramarital affair in 2015.

Attorney Eddie Greim says the legal fund for staff has been created as a tax-exempt political committee. He says the president of the fund is Eric O'Keefe, a conservative activist from Wisconsin.

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5 p.m.

Prosecutors say there are no legal grounds to dismiss the criminal indictment against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

The Republican governor was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury last month on felony of invasion of privacy. He's accused of taking a compromising photograph of a woman without her consent when they had an affair in 2015, before he was elected.

Greitens has admitted to the affair but denies criminal wrongdoing.

His attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the indictment last month, arguing in part that the woman's privacy wasn't violated because the affair was consensual.

In a response filed Tuesday, St. Louis prosecutor Robert Steele says the defence argument should be tried before a jury and isn't grounds for dismissing the indictment.

The trial is scheduled for May 14.

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3:30 p.m.

Lawyers for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens say they will not request a change of venue in the governor's criminal trial, at least based on the facts they know about the case.

Attorney Jim Martin told St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison during a hearing Tuesday that the defence has no intention of requesting that the case be moved out of St. Louis "unless new information comes up" that merits a venue change request.

Burlison, citing the intense media interest in the case, plans to call 160 prospective jurors for the trial scheduled for May 14. That's more than twice the number normally called. Twelve jurors will hear the case.

Greitens was indicted by a grand jury in February on one count of felony fourth-degree invasion of privacy. He is accused of taking a compromising photo of a woman with whom he was having an affair in 2015, without her permission. The Republican was elected governor in 2016.

Greitens has admitted to the affair but denies criminal wrongdoing.

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12 p.m.

The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party says a new non-profit has been started to help pay for embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' legal expenses.

Michigan GOP Chairman Ron Weiser on Tuesday confirmed that the non-profit is meant to aid Greitens following his indictment on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge related to a 2015 extramarital affair. The non-profit is called the ERG Defence Fund, and the governor's full name is Eric Robert Greitens.

Weiser is listed as the director of the non-profit on Internal Revenue Service filings. He and other supporters of the Missouri governor started the non-profit Friday.

It can take unlimited donations, but those contributions must be publicly reported.

Greitens' personal attorney didn't immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment on the non-profit Tuesday.

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10:45 a.m.

Supporters of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens have started a defence fund following his indictment on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge related to a 2015 extramarital affair.

Internal Revenue Service records show the Republican governor's backers started the non-profit Friday. It can take unlimited donations, but those contributions must be publicly reported.

The non-profit is called the ERG Defence Fund. The governor's full name is Eric Robert Greitens.

When asked by the Kansas City Star if the non-profit was set up to help the governor, President Sean Droke said he believed so. But when pressed, he said he couldn't say for certain.

Droke helped with Greitens' campaign and inauguration.

Greitens' personal attorney didn't immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment on the non-profit Tuesday.

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9:50 a.m.

A veterans' charity founded by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says it will support an attorney general's inquiry into "the misuse of our resources by the Greitens campaign."

The president of The Mission Continues sent an email to supporters Monday evening assuring them that the charity did not authorize Greitens' campaign to use its donor list. That comes after a spokeswoman for the Missouri attorney general's office confirmed last week that it has an open inquiry into the charity.

The Associated Press first reported in October 2016 that Greitens' campaign had obtained the charity's donor list in early 2015 and raised about $2 million from those on it.

Federal tax law prohibits charities such as The Mission Continues from being involved in political campaigns on behalf of candidates.

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6:05 a.m.

A Missouri House committee tasked with investigating Gov. Eric Greitens is set to meet for the first time.

The special panel is scheduled to convene Tuesday for an organizational meeting.

The bipartisan panel was formed by GOP House Speaker Todd Richardson in response to the Republican governor's indictment on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge stemming from an extramarital affair in 2015.

The House panel will be able to use subpoenas issued by Richardson to compel testimony from witnesses. Some of that testimony could be closed to the public to protect the identity of certain witnesses.

The committee has 40 days to issue a report, although that could be extended.

Depending on the results, the committee's findings could be used to initiate impeachment proceedings against the governor.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018
The Associated Press

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