Judge Denies Greitens' Request For Early Trial Date

ST. LOUIS, MO — A judge in St. Louis has denied Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens request to move his trail date to next month. It will remain set for May 14.

The Republican governor has been accused of taking a non-consensual, partially-naked photo of a woman he was having an affair with. According to the woman, he threatened to release the photo if she went public with details of their affair. Both the governor and his mistress were married to other people at the time, and Greitens was already exploring his run for office.

The governor admitted the affair, calling it a "deeply personal mistake" in a joint statement with his wife in January. He denied trying to blackmail his mistress, instead blaming a "reckless liberal prosecutor" for the case against him.

Prosecutors said earlier this month they do not have the compromising photo allegedly taken in 2015. But, they told a judge, they plan to get it. The prosecution seems to have been rushed to beat the state's statute of limitations on invasion of privacy, and prosecutors have said their investigation is not complete. They had originally asked for a November court date. It's not clear how much of the case against Greitens rests on prosecutors obtaining the photo. In asking for a trial date in just two weeks, Greitens defense seems to have been trying to race investigators to the courtroom.

The governor's lawyers have filed two motions to dismiss the case, accusing prosecutors of misleading the grand jury, although they didn't explain how. The first motion failed and a spokesperson for the prosecution called it "patently without merit."

Dozens of lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, have called on the governor to resign, and the Missouri House announced the formation of an investigatory committee in February, the first step in a process that could lead to impeachment.

The governor said he's not going anywhere.

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