St. Louis, MO (KTRS) St. Louis Police are investigating the city prosecutor’s office handling of the felony invasion-of-privacy case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
Police say the decision to investigate was made after meeting with two of Greitens’ attorneys, who announced earlier Tuesday they would ask for an investigation. The defense attorneys allege that William Tisaby, an investigator hired by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, lied to the court and withheld evidence.
Gardner’s office released the following statement in response to the investigation:
The continued theatrics from Governor Greitens and his defense team today should surprise no one.
I knew when I began investigating the Governor that his high-priced defense team would use whatever means possible to attack my team and me in court and through the media. How did I know? Twice Governor Greitens’ team of attorneys came to my office and threatened my staff and me with the continued barrage of insults and accusations if we continued to pursue charges against the Governor.
As Circuit Attorney, I am responsible for following the evidence to seek the truth, wherever it may lead. Sometimes the evidence leads us to hold public officials and powerful people accountable under the law, and that makes them uncomfortable. Often times, powerful people use whatever financial means available to stop prosecutors from seeking the truth. This is not the first time (nor will it be the last) in American history when an elected official was under investigation and they attacked the investigation itself to redirect the focus from their client to something else.
What is happening here in Missouri also mirrors what is happening on a national level. Thankfully, the elected officials in Missouri have the courage to stand up for truth and for what is right, regardless of how messy things can get.
The actions by the defense team today do not concern me. There is not one shred of evidence that any action by Mr. Tisaby was illegal or materially impacted any evidence in this crime. There is also no evidence that Mr. Tisaby was anything other than mistaken or confused during his deposition when he answered the questions improperly.
Just as Governor Greitens did not want anyone to conclude that he was guilty if he refused to take the stand during the trial, Mr. Tisaby’s reluctance to answer questions during his second deposition was merely due to the fact he had not been given the opportunity to review his previous deposition, which all witnesses are legally allowed to do.
Prosecutors dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy charge against Greitens on Monday after a court ruled that Gardner had to answer questions under oath from Greitens’ attorneys.
Gardner’s office has said the charge stemming from Greitens’ 2015 extramarital affair will be refiled by a special prosecutor or an assistant in her office.
