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Lawyer in Greitens felony invasion of privacy case subpoenaed over $100,000 cash payment

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The lawyer for the ex-husband of the woman at the center of a felony charge against Governor Eric Greitens has been subpoenaed by a special Missouri House committee.

Gov. Eric Greitens, R

Attorney Al Watkins said yesterday he’d received $100,000 in the form of two $50,000 cash anonymous payments in early January.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Watkins as saying the subpoena is requesting he appear before the committee to answer questions about the payment in early May.

Watkins said the payments took place in early January, the day after KMOV-TV interviewed the ex-husband for a story it broke the next day.

The story outed Greitens’ extramarital affair with the woman and his alleged attempt to blackmail her.  Watkins claims he does not know who the money came from and says the payments were dropped off at his office by a courier service. He also said he had reported the payment to the FBI.

Greitens was indicted in February by a St. Louis grand jury for felony invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a nonconsensual photo in 2015 of the woman with whom he was having an affair in a partially nude state.

The governor has said the affair was consensual and has denied any criminal wrongdoing.  His trial is scheduled for May 14th in St. Louis Circuit Court.

On Friday, he was charged with a second, separate felony for allegedly using a donor list from a charity he founded. He’s accused of taking the list for his 2016 political campaign without the charity’s permission.

Missouri state Senator calls out dark money for billboards targeting him

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State Senator Rob Schaaf contends recent billboards aimed at him were financed with dark money.

State Sen. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph)

The St. Joseph Republican notes three billboards, including one that read “Did you know? Rob Schaaf lived with a lobbyist?”, were paid for by a group – Darlington Road Corporation – in which an attorney is the only member.

The billboards are in or near Jefferson City and St. Joseph.

Schaaf asked his colleagues on the Senate floor yesterday if they agree with him that more transparency is needed.

“You have to ask yourself the question, ‘Is this the way I want my state to run?’,” said Schaaf.  “If somebody runs billboards against you, do you feel like you ought to know who paid for it?”

Schaaf said on the Senate floor that he was able to track down, through the help of a local TV station, the origin of Darlington Road Corporation to an attorney in Las Vegas, Robert Spretnak, who is listed as the company’s only officer, treasurer, secretary, and director.  The company is registered on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website.

Schaaf repeatedly said he was not intimidated while speaking on the Senate floor.  He said the presence of dark money, in which specifically classified non-profits don’t have to reveal their donors, should be prohibited.

“We shouldn’t allow this.” Schaaf said.  “We should shut out the dark money.  And that is the message that I really want people to think about.  We should end the dark money.”

Schaaf mentioned that fellow Republican Governor Eric Greitens’ non-profit, A New Missouri, which legally declines to list its donors, has spent money against him and other state Senators, including fellow Republicans Doug Libla of Poplar Bluff, Gary Romine of Farmington and Bob Dixon of Springfield.

The state Senator who will term out of office at the end of this year acknowledged he couldn’t say whether Greitens or allies of the governor bankrolled the billboards.

The non-profit groups exempt from having to identify those who contribute are classified under the 501 (c) (4) section of the Internal Revenue Code.

Schaaf is supporting a proposed initiative petition, known as the Clean Missouri initiative, that would eliminate almost all lobbyist gifts, lower campaign contributions and require legislative records to be open to the public.

Since the weekend, Schaaf has posted on Twitter a number of defiant messages targeted at what he perceives as a dark money group as having financed the billboards.  One read, “The message is not what is ON the billboards. The message IS the billboards. They are dark money fighting for survival, corruption desperately trying to stay in power.

Another tweet says, “Stick a fork in the coward who paid for the billboards.”

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Attorney for ex-husband says he was paid $100,000 in Greitens felony case

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The attorney for the ex-husband of the woman at the center of a felony charge against Governor Eric Greitens says he received two $50,000 cash payments from an anonymous source.

KMOV-TV reports attorney Al Watkins said the payments took place in early January, the day after the TV station interviewed the ex-husband for a story it broke the next day.

The story outed Greitens’ extramarital affair with the woman and his alleged attempt to blackmail her.  As reported by KMOV, Watkins claims he does not know who the money came from and says the payments were dropped off at his office by courier service. He also said he had reported the payment to the FBI.

The TV station notes reporters have asked Watkins repeatedly about the payments, and that two weeks ago he denied any payments were made before making a plea for funds to pay his legal bills.

KMOV reports Watkins said Monday he hadn’t been untruthful, making a differentiation that only his firm had been paid, not him.  He also said his client has not been paid at all.

The defense team for Greitens is attempting to acquire Watkins’ financial records, which he told a judge he plans to fight.

Greitens was indicted in February by a St. Louis grand jury for felony invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a nonconsensual photo in 2015 of the woman with whom he was having an affair in a partially nude state.

Greitens has said the affair was consensual and has denied any criminal wrongdoing.  His trial is scheduled for May 14th in St. Louis Circuit Court.

On Friday, he was charged with a second, separate felony for allegedly using a donor list from a charity he founded. He’s accused of taking the list for his 2016 political campaign without the charity’s permission.

Greitens’ defense team is asking Circuit Court Judge Rex Burlison to disqualify the St. Louis Circuit Attorney from trying the second case, and a hearing on that request is scheduled for Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem has scheduled a hearing Thursday on a separate petition from Greitens’ team to prevent state Attorney General Josh Hawley from investigating the governor.

They claim Hawley has a bias after he called on Greitens to resign this month.  Hawley was reacting to a House special committee report which includes testimony from the woman alleging physical assault and sexual coercion on the part of Greitens.

Iowa’s governor says it’s up to Missourians to decide Greitens’ fate

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Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has called on Missouri’s Republican governor to resign in the wake of a sex scandal. Wisconsin GOP Governor Scott Walker has said it will be difficult for Governor Eric Greitens to govern as he faces a court trial and a possible impeachment trial in Missouri’s Legislature.

Gov. Eric Greitens

During a conference call with reporters on Monday, Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds was asked if Greitens should resign.

“I am the governor of Iowa, not the governor of Missouri. It is not my place to weigh in on every scandal, every tweet, every comment,” says Reynolds. “It is up to the people of Missouri, the legislators or the courts to decide if he (Greitens) has acted inappropriately. I don’t know the details. My job is to work on behalf of Iowans and that is what we are doing every day.”

Greitens was the keynote speaker at Reynolds’ first major campaign fundraiser last fall. In January, Reynolds issued a written statement saying she was “disappointed and saddened” by the news of Greitens’ affair.

Greitens is to go on trial in May for allegedly threatening to blackmail his ex-mistress with a graphic photo he took without her permission. A recent report by a Missouri House committee includes accusations that Greitens was sometimes violent with the woman.

Greitens has admitted to having an affair with the woman while preparing a campaign for governor. He has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

On Friday, Greitens was charged with a second felony – this time by complaint for allegedly tampering with computer data. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s charge is in response to Greitens allegedly taking and using a donor list from his former veterans organization to fuel his campaign for governor. He’s accused of taking the list without the permission of charity officials.

Greitens says Gardner will use any charge she can to smear him. He says Gardner’s original case is falling apart, prompting her to bring a new charge against him.

By Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson and Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson

State House resolution would denounce Missouri’s Dred Scott decision

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A state Representative known to be a lightning rod on the issue of abortion is making a case to formally condemn a historical court decision.

Republican Mike Moon of Ash Grove is sponsoring a resolution not to denounce the 1973 Roe versus Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion, but one to condemn the landmark Dred Scott decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling from the Missouri high bench in 1852 denying Scott, a slave, freedom.  The state Supreme Court’s decision reversed a St. Louis Circuit Court hand down in 1850 that granted him freedom.

Moon thinks the Missouri decision was a black eye for the state.  “It’s just a reminder of how bad our court decisions can be,” said Moon.  “It’s probably one of the biggest guffaws in Missouri history I think.  And I think it would be agreed that it was at least a contributing factor to the civil war.”

Historians note the Dred Scott decision inflamed differences over slavery that ignited the American Civil War.  Moon calls the resolution, which calls on members of the state House of Representatives with the Senate concurring to condemn the Dred Scott decision, a step in the right direction for closing old wounds.

“That’s important for us to admit wrongdoing,” Moon Said.  “Even though we weren’t today complicit in that, our forefathers were.  It would spur healing. I believe that’s much needed in our state.”

His resolution notes that the country’s tensions over racial equality have “played out in profound ways” in Missouri and that St. Louis’ location on the Mississippi River was “uniquely positioned to be a destination for the slave trade”.

It also mentions that slaves in Missouri who sued for their freedom routinely won before national unrest over the issue resulted in the Dred Scott decision at the state level.

Scott attempted numerous times to secure freedom for himself and his family in Missouri Courts.  He sued his master’s widow for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived as a resident of a free state, Illinois, and a territory, Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was prohibited under the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

The Missouri Compromise granted Maine entrance into the Union as a free state while allowing Missouri permission to enter without restrictions on slavery, and included an amendment prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of latitude 36°30’.

According to archives from the Missouri Secretary of State website, Justice William Scott wrote the state Supreme Court majority opinion which denied freedom to Scott and his family.

In it, he did not deny that the Missouri Compromise’s ban on slavery was valid but felt it was only valid where it applied, which was not within the state of Missouri.

According to the archives, Justice Scott acknowledged the right of slaves to obtain their freedom when taken to free states or territories but advised that slavery status reattached upon return to a slave state.

The archives also notes that racist rhetoric contained in the brief filed by the attorney representing the widow of Dred Scott’s owner, was apparent in Scott’s opinion, specifically in his conclusion where he stated that slavery was the will of God.

Following the state Supreme Court decision, Dred Scott filed a suit in federal court that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1857 denying him freedom.  In doing so, the court rendered the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and said that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Dred Scott outcome is considered the worst decision ever rendered by the Supreme Court among constitutional scholars, having been cited as the most egregious example of the court imposing a judicial solution on a political problem.

Representative Moon, being a vocal anti-abortion advocate, thinks the Dred Scot decision is similar to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe versus Wade ruling in that they’re both among the worst renderings ever from the high bench.

“I think it does add to the foundation that, I think has already been laid, that ya, the court has made some bad decisions,” said Moon.  “They have been corrected and should be corrected if they continue to be out there and proven wrong.”

The 1868 Fourteenth Amendment overturned the Dred Scott decision by granting citizenship to all those born in the United States, regardless of color.  The amendment was ratified by Congress.

Dred Scott is buried at a cemetery in St. Louis.

Moon’s resolution is scheduled to be heard Tuesday in a House committee.  It faces an uphill battle to be enacted with less than a month left in the current legislative session that ends May 18th.

Court hearing underway today about second felony against Greitens

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Gov. Eric Greitens

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that legal team for Governor Eric Greitens is in court today to argue that St. Louis prosecutors should be dismissed from handling a second criminal case against the governor. On Friday, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner charged Greitens by complaint with a felony for allegedly tampering with computer data.

The charge is in response to Greitens allegedly taking and using a donor list from his former St. Louis-based charity to give a financial boost to his campaign for governor. He’s accused of taking the list without the permission of charity officials.

Last year, Greitens paid a $100 penalty to the Missouri Ethics Commission after admitting he received the donor list.

Fellow Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley turned over evidence last week to Gardner’s office that he felt would rise to the level of charging Greitens with a crime.

Greitens says Gardner will use any charge she can to smear him.

The governor is scheduled to go to trial on May 14 for a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly taking a sexual photo of his ex-mistress without her permission, threatening to blackmail her with the picture and transferring the image. Greitens says Gardner’s original case is falling apart, prompting her to bring a new charge against him.

Man convicted of beating woman to death with bat dies in a Missouri prison

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A Missouri prisoner who was convicted of killing his girlfriend in 2013 in St. Louis has died of apparent natural causes at the maximum-security prison in Licking.

Convicted killer Rosevelt Scott (2015 photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Corrections)

The Missouri Department of Corrections says 76-year-old Rosevelt Scott was pronounced dead late Sunday night at the South Central Correctional Center.

Scott was serving a life sentence for second degree murder and armed criminal action.

The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports Scott was convicted of beating his girlfriend to death with a baseball bat in 2013. Carolyn Richardson was struck in the head with the bat.

The newspaper reports Scott also served prison time for a deadly 2006 drunk driving case.

Scott’s girlfriend died and a St. Louis police officer was seriously injured in that 2006 incident, which happened on Natural Bridge.

Strong differing views about proposed mid-Missouri hog operation

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Missourians against a proposed hog operation in central Missouri’s Cooper County say they don’t trust the state Department of Natural Resources, lawmakers or company officials to protect their water from manure spills. During a hearing in Tipton, Steve Jeffrey says “massive concrete manure pits can crack and leak” and contaminate ground water.

Photo courtesy of Brownfield Ag News

“This is a problem because the folks who have wells which draw from the aquifer which is potentially contaminated from this, they’re harmed,” he says.

Jeffrey goes on to say Missouri laws have been wrongly changed to relax standards for large animal feeding operations referred to as CAFOs.

Susan Williams says she doesn’t want a Pipestone hog facility to taint Missouri the way the company’s hog farms have harmed Iowa and Minnesota.

“What benefit is there to our area to build facilities to raise animals to feed the world if, in the meantime, our clean environment is destroyed due to absence of oversight on the part of DNR and our county commission? Who benefits? NOT southern Cooper County. Thank you. {applause}”

Several opponents called for geological studies because of the “karst” cave-like cartography in the area, saying it is susceptible to ground water pollutants. Williams, and others, complained the agency did not take a well within 300 feet of the proposed site into consideration, nor the presence of a fault-line and, therefore, should void the permit for Pipestone.

Barbara Edwards says pathogens in the hog manure that would be spread for fertilizer would become airborne, likening it to radiation from Chernobyl, causing risk to residents near and far.

Taylor Tuttle, who raises livestock in the county and works for the Missouri Beef Industry Council says opponents are speaking of CAFOs as if they are something new and in an “apocalyptic fashion.”

“There are over 450 permitted CAFOs in the state of Missouri and all of those are regulated by DNR. And, those include ones that are owned by family farms OR corporate farms.”

At the last minute, testimony was given by Carl Edwards, retired NASCAR driver from nearby Columbia, who arrived late. Edwards said there can be unintended consequences of too much regulation.

“I recognize you guys have a lot of experience with these things, a lot more knowledge than I do, but to consider that asking for more regulation, asking for these things, down he road could affect – NOT just the hog farmer. It could affect anyone,” says Edwards.

DNR officials say all comments on the draft water permit for the proposed Tipton East hog operation will be weighed equally.

By Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News

Missouri lawmakers: Legislature distracted by Gov. Greitens’ legal troubles

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The end of the Missouri legislative session less than a month away and lawmakers say Governor Eric Greitens’ ongoing legal battles are distracting them from passing bills.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens – R (2018 file photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI)

Confusion and uncertainty are some of the words that are being used to describe what it’s like to be in the legislative chamber.

Despite all the commotion, lawmakers are pressing ahead to pass a budget.

“There’s a lot of emotions and I’ve heard a lot of folks who’ve referred to it as a dark cloud over the building right now,” says Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield.

Governor Eric Greitens is now charged with two felonies. The most recent one involves a donor list from his former charity that he’s alleged to have improperly acquired for campaign purposes.  It’s being investigated by lawmakers.

“My understanding is that the special investigative committee at any point could move forward with articles of impeachment and they would create those articles and then send them to the house,” says Quade.

“A lot of people are mistaken and think that impeachment means the person is removed from office and that’s just not the case. Impeachment is basically being charged. If the house moves forward and says they believe there is enough evidence for a trial, that’s impeachment. It is a higher standard than what it is brought in criminal court. In other words, there is a higher expectancy of conduct and so, therefore, it’s a lower threshold of being charged,” says Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield.

Determining the governor’s future along with working on behalf of Missourians is something that Rep. Quade says has diverted them from getting things done.

“This past week we worked on in the house a large tax overhaul bill and at one point in time there were only 47 members in the chamber out of 163 seats and you know it may not have all been because of that, I can’t say that to be true, but we are distracted. Nobody’s knowing what’s going to happen next and so when it comes to focusing on the people’s business, actually working on legislation, it has been very distracting,” says Quade.

However, Sen. Dixon believes more is being accomplished this year than last year.

“That is because the governor has been busy either defending himself or kind of spinning their tale of the goings on and so he has not had the opportunity to inject himself into the legislative process and quite frankly sow dissension among the ranks of the legislature,” says Dixon.

The legislative session ends May 18th, four days after the start of Governor Greitens’ trial for felony invasion of privacy.

Lawmakers say regardless if he’s found not guilty of that charge, he could still face impeachment because he’s held to a higher standard.

Reported by KOLR-TV’s Brea Douglas

Democratic State House leadership, Sen. McCaskill call on Representative to resign

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Democratic leadership in the Missouri House has called for the immediate resignation of a Democratic Representative over alleged calls to a radio show.

Representative Bob Burns, D-Affton

A statement Saturday from House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty of Kansas City said her office had learned about recordings of calls by Representative Bob Burns to a St. Louis-area radio show whose host is “notorious for making racist on-air statements”.

McCann Beatty acknowledged some of the recordings were edited but said the fact that Burns, who represents portions of St. Louis City and County, repeatedly called into the show is “reprehensible”.

The Minority Leader stated the talk show host has well known racist views and said the conduct of Burns would not be tolerated from any member of the Democratic caucus.

Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill also issued a statement Saturday condemning Burns for the alleged calls to the talk show.

McCaskill said she had learned of multiple call-in interviews in which Representative Burns expressed support and agreement with an individual who has delivered a “constant toxic stream of racist, sexist attacks on his radio show”.  McCaskill urged Burns to resign immediately.

Missourinet is awaiting a response from Representative Burns after efforts to contact him over the weekend were unsuccessful.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that House Democratic spokesperson Marc Powers said leaders found out about the recordings Wednesday and investigated Thursday.  According to Powers, McCann Beatty asked Burns to resign Friday but he declined.  The Post-Dispatch reported that Burns said he called the radio show only to talk about veterans issues and non-controversial topics.

Democratic Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued a statement on Twitter, saying, “Hate speech should never be accepted or tolerated. We are obligated to challenge racism and those who espouse it. Representative Burns should resign his seat in the Missouri House.”

Burns, who is 69-years-old, has served in the Missouri House for six years as a representative of the 93rd District.

According to his biography posted on the House website, Burns worked for 33 years in the brewery industry and is a member of the First Baptist Church of Affton, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

He worked on the Congressional Staff of U.S. Congressman Richard Gephardt from 1995-1999 and on McCaskill’s Senatorial Staff from 2007-2010.

House Minority Leader McCann Beatty’s full statement read:

“In recent days, House Democratic leadership learned of disturbing recordings of calls by Rep. Bob Burns to a St. Louis-area radio show whose host is notorious for making racist on-air statements. While we acknowledge some of the recordings have been edited, the fact that Rep. Burns repeatedly called into this show is reprehensible given the host’s well-known racist views. As a result, House Democratic leadership has asked Rep. Burns to immediately tender his resignation as state representative. We will not tolerate this conduct from any member of the Democratic Caucus.”

In her complete statement, Senator McCaskill said:

“It’s come to my attention that in multiple call-in interviews with KQQZ-AM Radio, Representative Burns expressed public support for – and agreement with – an individual who has delivered a constant toxic stream of racist, sexist attacks on his radio show.

Rhetoric like this is not only offensive – it stokes fear and division, and gives license to those who would perpetuate further toxic rhetoric and behavior. Rep. Burns’ public statements of support for this individual do not reflect the values of the state of Missouri. And his failure to challenge such hateful rhetoric is a disservice to the Missourians he represents.

I urge him to resign his seat in the Missouri General Assembly immediately.”