The attorney for the man whose ex-wife had an affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says his client has been subpoenaed by a grand jury.
Attorney Al Watkins said in a news release that the ex-husband who secretly recorded his wife's admission of the 2015 affair with Greitens had been asked Monday to testify. The release did not say when that testimony would happen.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office has said it is investigating the affair, which includes allegations of blackmail. But spokeswoman Susan Ryan told KCUR on Monday afternoon: "I can neither confirm nor deny any grand jury subpoenas for anybody."
"The issuance of a Grand Jury Subpoena indicates that the Circuit Attorney's Office has elevated its undertakings to include Grand Jury proceedings, for which subpoena power and other discovery tools are available," Watkins said in his news release.
Greitens’ attorney, Jim Bennett, told KCUR in an emailed statement that neither he nor the governor has heard from law enforcement, and they are "very confident that the FBI and federal authorities are not looking into this private matter from 2015."
The statement did not address whether the Republican governor would testify in front of a grand jury. It did criticize Watkins, however, saying he is a "private lawyer representing multiple people attacking the governor."
The woman involved in the affair has said she did not consent to having the secretly recorded conversation released to KMOV. The TV station's report on the affair, which alleged that Greitens took a photo of the woman while she was blindfolded and naked, and threatened her not to speak of the relationship, aired not long after the governor gave the State of the State speech in January.
After the news broke, several Republicans and Democrats asked for an investigation into the allegations, and some Democrats called on the governor to resign.
Erica Hunzinger is the editor of Harvest Public Media and a contributor to KCUR 89.3. You can reach her on Twitter @ehunzinger.
