Missouri Governor Eric Greitens was indicted and booked Thursday on a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly taking and transmitting a non-consensual photo of his partly nude lover shortly before that campaign started.

Greitens was accused of threatening his lover with the nude photo, an allegation that isn’t mentioned in the indictment. He has admitted having an extramarital affair but has denied the rest.

A St. Louis Grand Jury has indicted the Governor on a charge of felony invasion of privacy. The charge stems from Greitens allegedly taking a non-consensual nude photo of a woman with whom he had an affair back in 2015. The Governor was booked and released in St. Louis. Edward Dowd, Greitens’ attorney, calls the charge baseless and unfounded.

A court hearing is set for March 16th. Reporting in St. Louis, Jill Enders, Missourinet. </s> Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Indicted On Felony Charges Of Invasion Of Privacy

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted on felony charges of invasion of privacy and taken into custody Thursday. This apparently stems from allegations made last month that during an extramarital affair, Greitens took a photo of the woman and threatened to publish it if she exposed the affair.

This afternoon in Missouri, Republican Governor Eric Greitens was arrested and booked on a charge of felony invasion of privacy. He was released without having to post bail. St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippmann joins us now. Hey, Rachel.

KELLY: What led to this charge today?

LIPPMANN: So back on the night of the - his State of the State address in January, our local CBS affiliate here ran a story alleging that the governor had had an affair and then allegedly taken a picture of this woman with - of this woman while she was semi-nude. He was then also accused of threatening to release that photo if she ever said anything about the affair - essentially blackmail. Missouri law says that the photo taking - taking the picture alone was the act - was a misdemeanor. What pushes this to the level of a felony was the fact that he put that photo on a computer, and therefore it makes it sort of a low-level felony. We know about this incident because the ex-husband of the woman who had the affair recorded the conversation and then released to and talked to it with the media.

KELLY: Now, the woman - who we're not naming - the woman involved has not spoken publicly about this. The governor has spoken publicly about it. What's he said?

LIPPMANN: The governor, in a statement, admitted to the affair back on that January night. He and his attorneys initially denied that a photo had been taken but walked that back later. He has always strenuously denied that that blackmail allegation took place, that he said he would release the photo if the woman made the affair public. And that is not part of the indictment today. An attorney for the governor said in a statement today about the indictment, quote, "in 40 years of public and private practice I have never seen anything like this. The charges against my client, the governor, are baseless and unfounded. The governor, my client, is absolutely innocent, and we will be filing a motion to dismiss these charges."

KELLY: Now, we mentioned that the governor is out on bail. What is the next step that his lawyers are contemplating?

LIPPMANN: So he has the - has hired these private attorneys. And as they said, they'll be filing this motion to dismiss. He's always strenuously denied the blackmail, and now they're saying that these charges are completely and totally baseless. So we do know that the case has been officially filed with the court system here. And the motion to dismiss, I'm going to guess, will come shortly after.

KELLY: Now, you know, the governor is married. He is a father. He portrayed himself as a family man during the campaign. And he was widely said to have had aspirations for higher office. Do we know how this may all play out for his political future?

LIPPMANN: I think you have to think that future - you know, his future in politics is probably, with the #MeToo movement and how this is all tied into allegations of sexual assault - is probably over. There's a question now, too, of whether he'll even finish out the rest of his term. He was first elected back in 2016. You've already had Republicans and Democrats alike calling on him to be impeached because of this indictment. And he was never really well-liked among legislatures in - legislators in Jefferson City.

KELLY: All right. Rachel, thank you so much.

KELLY: It's St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippmann reporting there on the news that Missouri Governor Eric Greitens has been indicted on a felony charge of invasion of privacy. </s> Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Indicted On Felony Charges Of Invasion Of Privacy

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted on felony charges of invasion of privacy and taken into custody Thursday. This apparently stems from allegations made last month that during an extramarital affair, Greitens took a photo of the woman and threatened to publish it if she exposed the affair. </s> ST. LOUIS (AP) – A St. Louis grand jury has indicted Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on a felony invasion of privacy charge related to the Republican’s affair with a woman in 2015.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced the indictment Thursday. She launched an investigation in January after Greitens admitted to an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser that began in March 2015. He was elected governor in November 2016.

The woman told her husband – who was secretly taping the conversation – that Greitens took a compromising photo of her at his home and threatened to use it as blackmail if she spoke about the affair. A news release from Gardner says it is a felony if a person transmits an image “in a manner that allows access to that image via a computer.”

Messages seeking comment from Greitens and his attorney were not immediately returned. </s> Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Indicted On A Charge Of Felony Invasion Of Privacy

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted on one count of felony invasion of privacy and taken into custody in St. Louis in connection with reports of an extramarital affair that surfaced last month.

During that affair, Greitens is alleged to have taken a semi-nude photo of the woman and then threatened to blackmail her by publishing it if she revealed their relationship.

As reported by the Two-Way in January, Greitens, a Republican, confirmed that he had an extramarital affair before he was elected in 2016, but he denied the allegations of blackmail.

"As I have said before, I made a personal mistake before I was Governor," Greitens said in a statement Thursday posted on Facebook. "I did not commit a crime."

"Missouri law says that ... taking the picture alone is a misdemeanor. What pushes this to the level of a felony was the fact that he put that photo on a computer, and therefore it makes it sort of a low level felony. We know about this incident because the ex-husband of the woman who had the affair recorded the conversation and talked about it with the media."

In the wake of the public exposure of the affair last month, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner opened an investigation leading to this indictment by a St. Louis grand jury.

The name of the woman who had an affair with Greitens has not been disclosed and is referred to only as "K.S." in the indictment.

It alleges that Greitens "knowingly photographed K.S. in a state of full or partial nudity without the knowledge or consent of K.S. and in a place where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the defendant subsequently transmitted the image contained in the photograph in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer."

In a statement, Gardener said it was essential for residents of St. Louis and Missouri to have confidence in their leaders.

"They must know that the Office of the Circuit Attorney will hold public officials accountable in the same manner as any other resident of our city. Both parties and the people of St. Louis deserve a thorough investigation of these allegations," as quoted by St. Louis Public Radio.

Greitens, a former Navy Seal and Republican with political ambitions beyond the Missouri statehouse, lashed out at the prosecutor on Facebook calling her "a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points." Gardner is a Democrat. </s> CHICAGO: The governor of the US state of Missouri was charged Thursday with criminal invasion of privacy for taking compromising photos of his former mistress without her knowledge, in an alleged blackmail case.

Governor Eric Greitens was taken into custody and booked Thursday, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, after a grand jury issued the felony charge related to allegations that he blackmailed a woman with whom he was having an affair.

Greitens has admitted to the affair in 2015, before he took office as the chief executive of the Midwestern state.

According to the newspaper, Greitens took a photograph of the woman in a compromising pose — bound and partially nude — and threatened to publicize the image if the affair was exposed, charges he denies.

The indictment document says that Greitens “knowingly photographed” an unidentified woman in “a state of full or partial nudity without (her) knowledge or consent.”

“The defendant subsequently transmitted the image contained in the photograph in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”

The transmission of the photo made the offense a felony rather than a lesser misdemeanor, according to The New York Times.

“As I have stated before, it is essential for residents of the City of St. Louis and our state to have confidence in their leaders,” St Louis prosecutor Kimberly Gardner said in a statement.

“They must know that the Office of the Circuit Attorney will hold public officials accountable in the same manner as any other resident of our city.”

Greitens has said he would not resign and denied blackmail allegations in a previous interview with a local television station.

“There was no blackmail. There was no violence. The mistake that I made was that I was engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman who wasn’t my wife,” the governor told KTVI.

The governor’s lawyer called the criminal charge “baseless and unfounded,” and vowed to file a motion to dismiss, according to the Post-Dispatch.

The governor was released on his own recognizance, without a monetary bond. A court date of March 16 was set for the next hearing in the case. AFP </s> ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Latest on a grand jury indictment of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):

 5:15 p.m.

 Some Democratic lawmakers are calling on Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to resign or be impeached following his indictment on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge.

 House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty said Thursday that Greitens should consider resigning. She said it "will be extremely difficult for him to effectively do his job with a felony indictment hanging over his head."

 Democratic Sen. Jamilah Nasheed called on Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson to begin impeachment proceedings against Greitens. Richardson had no immediate comment.

 Greitens has acknowledged having an extramarital affair in 2015.

 The indictment from a St. Louis grand jury accuses Greitens of photographing a fully or partially nude woman and transmitting that image.

 His attorney Edward Dowd Jr. called the criminal charges "baseless and unfounded" and said Greitens is innocent.

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 5 p.m.

 Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' attorney says a felony invasion of privacy charge against the Republican is "baseless and unfounded."

 Lawyer Edward Dowd on Thursday said the governor is "absolutely innocent" in response to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's announcement of a grand jury indictment against Greitens related to his affair with a woman in 2015.

 Dowd in a statement said Greitens will file a motion to dismiss the charges.

 Gardner launched an investigation in January after Greitens admitted to the affair with his St. Louis hairdresser that began in March 2015. He was elected governor in November 2016.

 The woman told her husband, who was secretly taping the conversation, that Greitens took a compromising photo of her at his home and threatened to use it as blackmail if she spoke about the affair.

 A news release from Gardner says it is a felony if a person transmits an image "in a manner that allows access to that image via a computer."

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 4:20 p.m.

 A St. Louis grand jury has indicted Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on a felony invasion of privacy charge related to the Republican's affair with a woman in 2015.

 St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced the indictment Thursday. She launched an investigation in January after Greitens admitted to an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser that began in March 2015. He was elected governor in November 2016.

 The woman told her husband, who was secretly taping the conversation, that Greitens took a compromising photo of her at his home and threatened to use it as blackmail if she spoke about the affair. A news release from Gardner says it is a felony if a person transmits an image "in a manner that allows access to that image via a computer."

 Messages seeking comment from Greitens and his attorney were not immediately returned. </s> (Reuters) - Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, charged with criminal invasion of privacy in connection with an admitted extramarital affair, declared on Wednesday that he intended to stay in office while fighting to clear his name in court.

At a news conference in Jefferson City, the Missouri capital, Greitens, 44, a Republican, said he was the victim of a “political witch hunt” stemming from a “private mistake” that had nothing to do with his job as governor.

The comments came less than an hour before a special committee of the Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives was set to release a report on its own investigation of the scandal.

Greitens, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who was elected in 2016, has been under pressure from politicians in both parties to step down since he was indicted, but the governor said he had no intention of resigning.

“I will continue to serve the people of Missouri as their governor and to work for you every day,” he said.

Greitens was indicted in February on a single felony count of invasion of privacy, accused of taking a compromising photograph of a woman without her consent, then making it accessible by computer for the purpose of preventing her from disclosing their sexual relationship.

The alleged offense occurred in March 2015, before he was elected.

Greitens has admitted to having an affair with the woman, identified in the indictment only as K.S., but has denied trying to blackmail her into covering it up or doing anything that was criminal.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on Tuesday imposed a gag order on attorneys, witnesses and other parties to the criminal case.

The judge said his gag order would not preclude the parties from making statements about the general nature of the case, schedules or the substance of court rulings that he had entered into the public record.

Burlison indicated that he had no power over state legislators, who “have their jobs and their authority,” but hoped “consideration is being given to any ... defendant’s rights to have a fair trial in front of an impartial jury,” according to a transcript released by the defense. </s> The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

The political future of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens faces a big test when a special legislative committee issues an investigative report related to an extramarital affair the Republican had prior to his election.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2018, file photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks in Palmyra, Mo. Attorneys defending Greitens against an invasion-of-privacy charge are raising doubts about the testimony of a woman with whom ...

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2018, file photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks in Palmyra, Mo. Attorneys defending Greitens against an invasion-of-privacy charge are raising doubts about the testimony of a woman with whom ...

The Missouri House special investigative committee released its report on Governor Eric Greitens on Wednesday, April 11.

You can read part of the report, be advised it may contain inappropriate material that is not suitable for young audiences. You can click here to read it.

The report was on the investigation launched after Greitens was indicted by a grand jury in February on felony invasion of privacy stemming from a 2015 extramarital affair with his St. Louis hairdresser.

The woman testified that Greitens initiated unwanted sexual contact and slapped, grabbed and shoved her. She testified that during their first sexual encounter, Greitens threatened to distribute a partially nude photo taken without her permission if she spoke of the affair.

Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson released the following statement regarding the report:

“With the recent events that have distracted our great state, I want to say with all sincerity that it is time to unite and put aside our differences. Over the course of several months, it has been a trying time for many people. My heart goes out to the families involved. However, all Missourians must continue to stay focused on the task at hand – moving Missouri forward. We owe it to ourselves and generations to come.”

The committee that investigated Greitens said it was disappointed the governor declined to testify.

Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, said there were no restrictions from the circuit court prohibiting Greitens from testifying before the House committee.

Governor Eric Greitens spoke on Wednesday before the special legislative committee released the report.

He made the statement from his Capitol office.

Greitens called the report a "witch hunt" and said it would include "lies and falsehoods."

Copyright 2018 KFVS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press also contributed to this story.
A grand jury indicts Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on charges of felony invasion of privacy by allegedly threatening to publish a nude photo of the woman he was involved with in a 2015 extramarital affair, if the woman ever disclosed the relationship. Governor Greitens denies the blackmail charge.