Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens initiated unwanted sexual contact with woman, she testifies

By Eli Rosenberg and Sean Sullivan April 11 at 7:20 PM

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens groped a woman before inviting her back to his house to talk, and then blindfolded her in his basement and initiated unwanted sexual contact that she felt afraid to say no to, according to testimony in a dramatic report issued by the state’s House of Representatives.

The report significantly adds to the deepening crisis facing Greitens, once considered a rising star of the Republican Party who is now facing trial on a felony charge of invasion of privacy after officials said he took a nude photo of the woman and used it to blackmail her. The state’s predominantly Republican chamber voted 154-0 to launch the investigation into his conduct earlier this year.

The woman, a hair stylist named in the report only as Witness 1, described the entire encounter with Greitens before and after she said she believes he took a photograph of her in a partially undressed state.

Greitens, who has resisted calls to step down amid the scandal, declined to participate or testify in the committee’s report. In the hours before the report’s scheduled release, he delivered a defiant speech in which he called the investigation into him a “witch hunt.”

He said he planned to remain in office and fight the charge against him in court, calling the accusations “outlandish and salacious,” and saying he expected the report to include “lies and falsehoods.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/04/11/missouri-gov-eric-greitens-groped-and-initiated-unwanted-sexual-contact-with-woman-she-testifies