Prosecutor Won't Refile Charges Against Former Gov. Greitens

ST. LOUIS, MO — A special prosecutor will not refile invasion of privacy charges against former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. With the deadline to refile charges set to expire, Jackson County prosecuting attorney Jean Peters Baker, who was handed the case after St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner unexpectedly dropped the charges last month, said Friday her office did not have sufficient evidence against the former governor to bring the case to trial.

Greitens announced last week that he would step down in the wake of an ongoing political and legal scandal. He was indicted in February after his former hair dresser accused him of taking a non-consensual, partially-naked photo and using it to blackmail her.

Greitens had also been accused of lying about campaign filings and violating campaign finance law related to his use of a charity donor list to raise money for his run for governor. He was indicted on those charges in April, but Gardner said just a day after Greitens announced his resignation that she would dismiss those charges, calling it a "fair and just resolution."

Baker said she found Greitens' accuser credible and believed the woman was telling the truth, but prosecutors simply lacked corroborating evidence and did not have time to conduct an adequate investigation.

Prosecutors never found the incriminating photo Greitens allegedly took of his victim. Gardner's office had initially requested six months to conclude their investigation, which was rushed to beat Missouri's statute of limitations on invasion of privacy, but a judge denied that request and set the trial date for May.

“If you don’t have the photograph, it’s hard to get the conviction,” Ben Trachtenberg, an associate law professor at the University of Missouri, told the Associated Press.

Baker also said Friday that about 31,000 files had gone missing on Greitens' phones between April and May, though none of them were believed to be photos. Baker only found out about the missing files a few days ago, and said was extremely frustrated with the process of reviewing the case with the statute of limitations looming.

Garder tweeted her support of Baker's decision Friday afternoon:

I commend Ms. Peters-Baker for her gutsy decision to review the invasion case involving Eric Greitens, despite all of the
mischaracterizations and attacks of those involved. I stand by my original decision to charge this case, and I respect Ms. Baker’s decision today.
— Kimberly Gardner (@StLouisCityCA) June 8, 2018

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

Image: Greitens' mugshot, via St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department