State Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, says the names of House members who have signed a letter encouraging fellow Republican Governor Eric Greitens to resign will not be publicly released. Dogan, who’s leading the effort, tells Missourinet of the 13 members who have signed the letter, some are concerned the governor will retaliate against them.
State Rep. Shamed Dogan speaks on the Missouri House floor in February 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)
“Most of the people who signed on to it (letter) have publicly issued their own individual statements, but there are a few people who did express those concerns. For their concerns, we are not releasing those names right now,” he says. “People saw what he (Greitens) did with Sen. Schaaf and some of the other senators who opposed him last year. People are afraid that he might come after him personally and I completely understand that.”
Dogan says the letter with 13 members also includes some Republicans possibly seeking re-election this year. He says the number of members who believe the governor should resign is much higher, but they want the investigative process to play out.
According to Dogan, those who signed the letter are not on the special committee investigating the governor’s alleged actions.
“No. None of those people were. I imagine that it was probably a pre-condition of serving on there that you couldn’t have come out publicly one way or the other because we do want those people to be as fair and impartial as possible,” says Dogan.
Missourinet’s request for comment from the governor’s office had not been returned by the time this story was published.
Greitens has pleaded not guilty to a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly transferring a photo of his undressed mistress in 2015 while preparing a run for governor. He calls St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner “a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points”.
A May 14 trial date has been set for Greitens’ case.