Conservative Publisher Paid $50,000 To Ex-Husband: Greitens' Team

ST. LOUIS, MO — Attorneys for the governor of Missouri say Scott Faughn, a conservative publisher and talk show host, was behind at least one $50,000 payment to the ex-husband of a woman who has accused Gov. Eric Greitens of invasion of privacy and sexual assault. Faughn's name was revealed in a deposition of the ex-husband's attorney, Al Watkins, earlier this week. Faughn, Greitens' attorneys said, delivered the first of the payments, but did not say if he was the source of the funds or if he had any role in a second $50,000 payment.

Greitens' defense team has speculated that Faughn, a longtime critic of the governor, paid the woman's ex-husband in an effort to get him to come forward about allegations against the governor. Shortly after Watkins received the payment, the ex-husband gave secretly-recorded conversations to several media outlets in which his ex-wife described a non-consensual sexual encounter with the governor. That allegation led to the governor's indictment for felony invasion of privacy.

The governor admitted to having an affair in January, calling it a "deeply personal mistake" in a joint statement with his wife. But he denied doing anything criminal, instead blaming a "reckless liberal prosecutor" for the case against him.

Faughn, who owns the Missouri Times newspaper, said Monday that he received the ex-husband's audio recordings before they became public, but that he had never spoken to the ex-husband or provided the audio to anyone else. He did not comment on the payment.

More than a dozen lawmakers have called on Greitens to resign and a House Special Investigative Committee is currently weighing impeachment to remove him from office. The governor has said he does not intend to step down.

Democratic House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty said she doesn't think the payment will impact the legislative investigation. “I think it's meant to be a distraction, but as far as our House investigation goes, we will continue to take testimony and move forward,” she said. “We have an obligation to do that.”

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