Leader of House review of Greitens to file ethics complaint

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The chairman of a Missouri House committee investigating former Gov. Eric Greitens said Monday the lawmakers no longer have the authority to act now that Greitens has resigned, but the lawmaker pledged to file an ethics complaint in hopes of continuing a review.

The House committee was investigating allegations of personal and political misconduct against Greitens, including claims he slapped and shoved a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair and allegations he took a donor list without permission from not-for-profit he founded and used it for political fundraising. Greitens has repeatedly denied allegations of criminal misconduct.

Investigatory committee chairman Jay Barnes, a Republican, in a letter to colleagues said he believes the committee turned up evidence of "multiple acts constituting crimes, misconduct, and acts of moral turpitude" that would warrant Greitens' impeachment.

Barnes cited the allegations of physical abuse against the woman he had an affair with, and suggested state or federal prosecutors might have been able to bring more charges for fraud related to the charity donor list. He said the committee ran out of time when Greitens resigned June 1, but said he has evidence suggesting Greitens "may have engaged in criminal fraud" related to a grant he received to write and promote his 2015 book, "Resilience." Barnes in the committee letter also raised concerns Greitens may have engaged in "literary fraud" in writing that book.

Barnes also said a review of alleged illegal campaign finance activity was cut short because of Greitens' resignation.

A New Missouri -- a not-for-profit that promoted Greitens' agenda -- has faced criticism because it's able to accept unlimited campaign donations without disclosing its donors. Barnes in his letter said he believes A New Missouri was "a criminal enterprise from its inception -- designed to illegally skirt donation limits and conceal the identities of major donors to Eric Greitens and ballot initiatives relating to right-to-work that were supported by the former governor."

Now that Greitens is no longer in office, Barnes said the committee does not have the authority to continue its probe.

"I understand this may disappoint some of you -- and some in the public -- who demand further accountability for Eric Greitens," Barnes wrote. "But we cannot investigate alleged illegal activity by someone else with actions of our own that are either illegal or create problematic precedent for future legislators."

Instead, Barnes plans to file a complaint against Greitens' campaign and A New Missouri with the Missouri Ethics Commission next week.

Attorney Catherine Hanaway in response said authorities have known about claims against Greitens for "a long time," but none have filed any criminal charges against the campaign or not-for-profit.

"I am really not sure what Representative Barnes hopes to accomplish," Hanaway said in a statement.

Barnes' ethics complaint would be the second action taken against A New Missouri in recent weeks.

On Friday, attorney Elad Gross sued the not-for-profit for allegedly breaking state not-for-profit records laws for not providing him with financial and accounting documents.

Hanaway said they will file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by Gross, who she said is "clearly a Democrat operative trying to prolong the Greitens saga for political purposes."

"The law Mr. Gross is trying to sue under was intended to protect widows and orphans supported by charities," she said in a statement, "NOT political hacks looking for the next shot to take."