House committee's work will continue after Greitens report

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks during an interview in his office at the Missouri Capitol Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Jefferson City, Mo. Greitens discussed having an extramarital affair in 2015 before taking office. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks during an interview in his office at the Missouri Capitol Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Jefferson City, Mo. Greitens discussed having an extramarital affair in 2015 before taking office. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The Missouri House special committee investigating Gov. Eric Greitens will release its report Wednesday evening.

A Tuesday evening news release said the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight will release its report online at 5 p.m., on the House website, www.house.mo.gov.

Committee members will join House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, and other members of the House GOP leadership in a 6 p.m. news conference, with House Democrat leaders holding a separate news conference after the first one.

On Tuesday, the committee's seven members still were not saying what will be in the report, nor were they talking about the work they'll be doing from now until the end of the legislative session on May 18.

"Our committee is still working and still proceeding with our investigation, despite the issuance of a report tomorrow," Rep. Gina Mitten, D-Richmond Heights, told reporters Tuesday, after the committee's 50-minute closed meeting.

She said the confidentiality aspects of the March 1 House resolution authorizing the panel's work prevented her from talking about the work the committee still faces.

"Our committee will continue to do the work that we've been doing," Mitten said.

The committee includes five Republicans and two Democrats - with Chairman Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, being the only Mid-Missouri lawmaker.

Three lawyers - Barnes, Mitten and Rep. Kevin Austin, R-Springfield - and two former law enforcement officers are among the panel's seven members.

They're scheduled to meet again at noon Wednesday before releasing their report.

Richardson appointed the committee Feb. 27, five days after a St. Louis City grand jury indicted Greitens for felony invasion of privacy.

The governor is charged with taking a picture of a woman - identified as his mistress - in March 2015, without her consent, while she was at least partially nude but had an expectation of privacy.

Greitens also is charged with taking that picture in such a way that it could be shared with a computer.

The governor has admitted to having the extra-marital affair but denied he committed any criminal acts, and has not answered questions about whether he took the photo.

Greitens' lawyers have argued the House committee should delay issuing its report until after the governor's trial on the criminal charge, currently set for May 14 - the Monday of the last week of the 2018 legislative session.

But observers believe the committee also is looking into other issues in addition to the affair - which isn't illegal - and acts alleged to have occurred during the affair that may have violated the law.

In her conversation with reporters, Mitten wouldn't comment on the specifics of the panel's work.

"I believe that, by and large, the members of the committee have taken this job very, very seriously and are focusing on that and not on partisanship," she said.

"We are focusing on the investigation under the parameters of the resolution, and that we take that very seriously and are doing our work in that regard."

Mitten is in her sixth year as a lawmaker.

She's a 2001 graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and earned her law degree in 2005 from Washington University.

Her biography on her House web page says that, when she's not working on legislative matters, Mitten is an attorney with the St. Louis Lawyers Group, focusing her practice on civil litigation and domestic relations.

She told reporters law school hadn't prepared her for the kind of work the special House committee is doing.

"I feel the weight of investigating somebody, under the circumstances that we are," she explained.

"This is not an endeavor to be taken lightly."

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The Missouri House special committee investigating Gov. Eric Greitens still plans to release its report Wednesday.

But members of the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight still aren't saying what will be in it, nor are they talking about the work they'll be doing from now until the end of the legislative session May 18.

"Our committee is still working and still proceeding with our investigation, despite the issuance of a report tomorrow," state Rep. Gina Mitten, D-Richmond Heights, told reporters Tuesday after the committee's 50-minute closed meeting.

She said the "confidentiality aspects" of the March 1 House resolution authorizing the panel's work prevented her from talking about the work the committee still faces.

"Our committee will continue to do the work that we've been doing," Mitten reported.

House Speaker Todd Richardson appointed the committee Feb. 27, five days after a St. Louis grand jury indicted Greitens for felony invasion of privacy.

The governor is charged with taking a picture of a woman in March 2015, without her consent, while she was at least partially nude but had an expectation of privacy. He and the woman were involved in an extramarital affair.

Greitens also is charged with taking that picture in such a way that it could be shared with a computer.

The governor has admitted the affair but denied he committed any criminal acts and has not answered questions about whether he took the photo.

Greitens' lawyers have argued the House committee should delay issuing its report until after the governor's trial on the criminal charge, currently set for May 14 - the Monday of the last week of the 2018 legislative session.

But observers believe the committee also is looking into other issues.

It's not known yet if the report to be released Wednesday will cover more than the affair and the allegations associated with it.