Gov. Greitens charged with felony tampering of computer data

Gov. Eric Greitens has been charged with tampering with computer data from “The Mission Continues” investigation.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed the felony charges late Friday afternoon in addition to the invasion of privacy charge he faces for allegedly taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an affair in 2015.

Gardner alleges that a worker at the Greitens charity gave a donor list to the governor’s campaign.

According to the probable cause statement, “The president of The Mission Continues explained that neither the defendant nor ‘K.T.’ had permission from The Mission Continues to disclose the donor list to the fundraiser or to use the donor list for political purposes.”

Court documents also allege that Greitens and ‘K.T.’ disclosed the donor list to the fundraiser for the purpose of obtaining property of $500 or more.

Gov. Greitens posted a new statement Friday evening on his facebook page, saying in part, “Two months ago, a prosecutor brought a case against me. She claimed she had evidence of a crime–but she’s produced none. She said her investigator would find the truth. Instead, her investigator lied under oath and created false evidence. She is wasting thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars to do all of this. Her original case is falling apart–so today, she’s brought a new one. By now, everyone knows what this is: this prosecutor will use any charge she can to smear me.”

Greitens’ lawyer Ed Dowd also provided his own comment: “This charge makes no sense at all. Eric made the Mission Continues. He raised millions of dollars for it… Now he’s being accused of stealing an email list from an organization he built? Give me a break. Not only did he create this list donor by donor, friend by friend, but the Mission Continues still has the list. The idea that this is a crime is absurd. How convenient that he’s being charged just two days before the statute of limitations runs out on a so-called crime that’s three years old. The court will find Eric innocent of yet another absurd charge, and the people of Missouri will learn the true motives behind this action soon enough. This allegation is absurd, and Eric will be found innocent of this accusation in court.”

State Attorney Josh Hawley also commented on the charges by saying, “St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner reviewed the evidence turned over to her by my office and determined that there is probable cause to file criminal charges against the Governor. The Office stands ready to assist the Circuit Attorney’s Office where appropriate and if needed. These are serious charges–and an important reminder that no one is above the law in Missouri. Like all criminal defendants, Governor Greitens is presumed innocent under the law until proven guilty.”

See below for the court documents: