Team Greitens lays out plan for special session
The attorneys for Gov. Eric Greitens have sent a letter with “rules” for how they’d like to move forward with the Special Investigative Committee.
Team Greitens wants to be able to question witnesses and want the power to subpoena like House Speaker Todd Richardson’s has during the upcoming special session that could lead to Greitens’ impeachment.
A spokesman for Greitens on Tuesday morning released a letter dated May 11 from attorneys Edward Greim and Ross Garber, representing Greitens and the governor’s office, respectively, to Rep. Jay Barnes, the Republican chairing the legislative committee investigating Greitens.
Greitens’ vision of a special session may be discussed as early as Wednesday. The committee is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. to talk about “process,” Barnes said during a committee hearing Tuesday.
Garber and Greim proposed rules and a schedule for the special session, which is set to begin May 18 after lawmakers adjourn the regular 2018 session. Their letter to Barnes, R-Jefferson City, expresses a desire to meet for “a full and frank discussion” about the interests of the legislative and executive branches.
The plan put forward on Greitens’ behalf resembles trial proceedings
House lawmakers, the chamber where impeachment proceedings would begin, have not yet released to the public specifics on the procedure for the special session. In their letter, Greitens’ legal counsel proposed a schedule for the 30-day special session:
By May 18: House releases list of issues at hand, picks the committee, and sets rules
May 21: Committee names witnesses, discloses exhibits and evidence
May 23: Greitens and governor’s office release witnesses and exhibits
May 24: Speaker Richardson issues subpoenas
June 4 to June 8: Hearings on evidence
June 11: Committee reports to House
On Monday, Barnes criticized Greitens’ campaign for failing to fully comply with the committee’s requests for information and testimony. In response, an attorney for the campaign said thousands of documents had already been provided.
