Greitens' Former Mistress Will Testify At His Trial Next Week

ST. LOUIS, MO — A federal judge in St. Louis will allow Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' former mistress to testify in his criminal trial, scheduled to begin May 14. The governor was indicted in February for felony invasion of privacy, after the woman accused him of taking a non-consensual, partially-naked photo and using it to blackmail her.

Judge Rex Burlison rejected arguments that the woman's testimony is tainted because of a bungling private investigator who originally interviewed her. The governor's defense team argued that investigator William Tisaby had misled the court about notes taken during that interview and withheld other evidence from the defense.

The circuit attorney's office has not disputed missteps by Tisaby, with one prosecutor comparing him to the fictional Inspector Clouseau, an inept French detective played by Peter Sellers in the film "The Pink Panther."

"Everything Mr. Tisaby has touched...must be excluded from any trial," defense attorney Jim Martin told the court last week, arguing that Tisaby had "molded" the woman's testimony.

But Burlison said that's up to a jury to decide.

A Missouri House investigative committee interviewed the woman earlier this year, as well as her ex-husband, and a close friend, and found her largely credible, according to that committee's report released in April.

The governor has also been indicted on two counts of computer tampering after Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley said in May that he had uncovered evidence of a crime in Greitens' use of a charity donor list to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign.

A second report released last week by House investigators supports those charges, alleging Greitens lied about campaign filings and violated campaign finance law during his run for office.

Dozens of Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called on Greitens to resign. But the governor has said he isn't going anywhere without a fight.

That fight appears to be brewing. The legislature has scheduled a special session just days after the governor's trail begins to consider his impeachment.

"Pursuing impeachment against a Missouri governor is history none of us wants to make, but Eric Greitens' actions have made it unavoidable," said House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, a Democrat.

Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson agreed it "was not a decision made lightly and certainly not without great deliberation and effort."

Image: Greitens mugshot via St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department