Greitens May Have Broken Charity Donations Laws: Attorney General

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, a Republican, may have driven another nail into Gov. Eric Greitens' political coffin this morning when he announced he had uncovered evidence of a crime in Greitens' use of a charity donor list to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign.

The Associated Press first reported in 2016 that Greitens used connections he made during his time running a charity he founded called "The Mission Continues" to compile a donor list for his run for statewide office. Nearly $2 million in contributions to Greitens gubernatorial run came from donors who had also given significant amounts to his charity organization, according to financial records examined by the AP.

While the charge may be less salacious than other allegations against the governor, it nevertheless carries the potential of another felony charge. Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Hawley said he had referred the case to Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the same St. Louis prosecutor that brought charges against the governor for felony invasion of privacy in February.

Hawley's office also sent evidence to a Missouri House investigatory committee, which will decide whether or not to impeach the governor and remove him from office.

A spreadsheet obtained by the AP two years ago seems to show coordination between Greitens' charity and his political operation — the document was created by charity staff and later transferred to a staffer for the Greitens campaign. Using charity donor lists for political purposes is against the law.

Greitens denied the allegations at the time, but Hawley said today that transferring the list from the charity to the campaign may constitute felony computer tampering.

"...Within the past several days, we have obtained evidence of potential criminal violation of Missouri law," Hawley said. "And the evidence indicates that these potential criminal acts were committed by Gov. Eric Greitens."

He added that no wrongdoing that goes beyond Missouri's charity laws was uncovered.

Greitens and his legal team have not yet weighed in on the announcement.

A growing number of lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, have called on the governor to step down.

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