JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri House Democrats are demanding that the Republican leadership launch immediate impeachment proceedings against GOP Gov. Eric Greitens, accusing Republicans of stalling.
"We implore you to act quickly on this matter, and to begin steps to remove this man from our highest office," a letter delivered Tuesday to House Speaker Todd Richardson states.
Richardson, a Republican, did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment Wednesday. Trevor Fox, communications director for the Missouri House, said Richardson's office "believes no further action is necessary in order for the committee to recommend impeachment."
The governor faces two criminal cases in St. Louis. He goes to trial May 14 on invasion of privacy stemming from an extramarital affair. He is accused of taking an unauthorized photo of the woman while she was partially nude, blindfolded and bound in the basement of his St. Louis home in 2015, before he was elected.
A special House committee's April report that detailed the woman's testimony in which she alleged sexual aggression by Greitens prompted calls for resignation or impeachment from lawmakers from both parties.
A computer data tampering charge filed last month accuses Greitens of using a donor list from the veterans charity he founded, The Mission Continues, for fundraising during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign without the charity's permission.
The same House committee that investigated the details of the affair released a new report Wednesday on its investigation into Greitens' use of the donor list.
Greitens has admitted to the affair but denied criminal wrongdoing, blaming the allegations against him on a "political witch hunt."
In a court filing Tuesday, the St. Louis circuit attorney's office asked Judge Rex Burlison to be guided by Missouri's "rape shield" law in how the woman involved in the affair is treated at trial.
Chief trial assistant Robert Dierker, who works in the prosecutor's office, wrote that although there is no rape allegation, the statute should serve as a guide in limiting evidence about the woman's previous sexual conduct and counseling or psychiatric history.
"The very nature of the defendant's conduct is sexually abusive as a form of involuntary pornography," Dierker wrote.
Greitens' attorneys have asked Judge Rex Burlison to prohibit the woman from testifying at all, saying her testimony is tainted by missteps of investigator William Tisaby, whom they've accused of lying to the court.