Greitens requests temporary restraining order against Hawley

UPDATE, 9:45 p.m.: The attorney general’s office responded to the governor’s request on Wednesday, separating Hawley’s call for Greitens’ resignation from its investigation into the governor’s former charity.

“The request for the Attorney General’s recusal is frivolous,” press secretary Mary Compton said. “The Attorney General called for the Governor’s resignation because the House Investigative Committee reported substantial evidence of sexual, violent misconduct by the Governor. The investigation into The Mission Continues addresses an entirely separate matter. The fact that the Governor has been credibly accused of secual misconduct does not mean he is exempt from investigation into other wrongdoing.”

ORIGINAL: Gov. Eric Greitens requested a temporary restraining order against Attorney General Josh Hawley on Monday. The court documents were made public on Wednesday.

The petition states that Hawley has become biased against the governor. It asks that Hawley recuse himself from any investigation having to do with Greitens.

ABC 17 previously reported that Hawley asked for Greitens to step down as governor after a report alleged that there was sexual misconduct during the governor’s affair.

Hawley also announced on Tuesday that his office uncovered evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the Mission Continues investigation. Greitens was accused of using the charity’s donor list for political fundraising in an unauthorized fashion.

Attorneys for Greitens said, “By his own published standards, AG Hawley’s official public call for Gov. Greitens to resign compromises the AGO’s own ongoing investigation of Gov. Greitens.

Hawley has allegedly predetermined the guilt of his own investigative target and the investigation is now compromised.

The request for a restraining order ends by stating, “It is very surprising that an elected public official who is a lawyer and a law enforcement official would not respect the presumption of innocence and wait until the case is concluded before leaping to conclusions.”

Greitens lawyers claim that Hawley has a personal interest in the resignation, impeachment, and prosecution of the governor.

Greitens wants the court to appoint a special prosecutor, independent of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to finish out the investigation into The Mission Continues.