Judge Will Rule On Woman's Testimony In Greitens Case Today

ST. LOUIS, MO — A federal judge in St. Louis will rule today on whether Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' former mistress will be allowed to testify in his criminal trial, scheduled to begin May 14. The governor was indicted in February for felony invasion of privacy, after a woman accused him of taking a non-consensual, partially-naked photo and threatening to blackmail her with its release.

Greitens admitted to having an affair in January, calling it a "deeply personal mistake" in a joint statement with his wife. He denied doing anything illegal, instead blaming a "reckless liberal prosecutor" for the case against him. But testimony released by a House Special Investigative Committee last month calls into question whether the relationship with his former hair dresser was consensual.

The governor's defense team argues that the woman's testimony has been tainted by William Tisaby, the private investigator who originally interviewed her. Tisaby, they say, has bungled the investigation and lied to the court, misleading the judge about notes taken during an interview with the woman and withholding other evidence from the defense.

"Everything Mr. Tisaby has touched...must be excluded from any trial," defense attorney Jim Martin wrote in a court filing Thursday.

Those are allegations prosecutors don't dispute. "We are saddled with the egregious mistake of relying on [Tisaby]," said prosecutor Robert Dierker last month, comparing the investigator to the fictional Inspector Clouseau, an inept French detective played by Peter Sellers in the film "The Pink Panther."

But, the circuit attorney's office denies Tisaby has tainted the woman's testimony or the larger case.

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 report released last week by a Missouri House investigative committee supports those charges, alleging Greitens lied about campaign filings and violated campaign finance law during his run for 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 two years ago.

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

The legislature has scheduled a special session just days after the governor's trail begins to consider his impeachment. Missouri lawmakers have before called a special session on their own.

"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 said it "was not a decision made lightly and certainly not without great deliberation and effort."

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

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