Report: Ex-House speaker had affair with governor's aide

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Former Missouri House speaker John Diehl, who resigned after exchanging sexually suggestive text messages with a Capitol intern, also had affair with a former aide to Gov. Jay Nixon, according to a newly released police report.

Diehl resigned May 15 on the final working day of the legislative session after admitting to the sexually suggestive messages with an intern that had been first reported by The Kansas City Star a couple of days earlier. While announcing his resignation, Diehl said he hadn't had any other inappropriate or sexually charged relationships with other women.

But a Jefferson City police report notes Diehl and former Nixon aide Brittany Burke acknowledged to police in April they had an affair last year.

Diehl, a Republican from the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, is married and was the Republican House majority leader at the time. Burke had been promoted in January 2014 from Nixon's deputy press secretary to director of external legislative and policy affairs for the Democratic governor.

The police report, which was first obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was provided Friday to the Associated Press under an open-records request. Burke's relationship with Diehl wasn't the primary focus of the police investigation.

The report says Burke contacted police April 9 to investigate an unrelated incident. During separate police interviews, Burke and Diehl both acknowledged their prior affair.

"Burke stated (Diehl) had an affair with her last year but currently they aren't physical together anymore," the police report said.

The report later added: "Diehl was up front about a physical relationship he had with Burke in the past, but it has since been stopped."

Diehl did not return messages Friday seeking comment about the police report. Burke said she did not want to be interviewed about her relationship with Diehl.

Burke left state government in summer 2014 to work as a consultant. Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said Burke had been transferred to the Department of Social Services payroll in March 2014. But Burke said she worked in the governor's office the whole time.

The events that led to Diehl's resignation prompted the House to review its intern policies. The Senate is joining in that policy review and hired a private attorney in May as a result of what Senate documents have described as a "workplace harassment complaint."

Sen. Paul LeVota, a Democrat from Independence, confirmed Friday the investigation relates to college interns who had worked in his Senate office. LeVota said he is cooperating as "they're trying to figure out why these interns left early" before the session ended.