Acquittal of Greitens wouldn’t guarantee political survival

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But that trial next month is only on an invasion-of-privacy charge. Not only does it not address other allegations in the legislative report, acquittal of the charge might not be enough for Greitens to keep his job, said Jack Sharman, a lawyer who headed an Alabama House committee’s impeachment investigation of Gov. Robert Bentley before Bentley resigned and pleaded guilty in April 2017 over allegations linked to his alleged affair with a longtime aide.

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The Missouri Constitution provides for impeachment for any offence involving “moral turpitude,” though it’s unclear whether that must occur while a person is in office. The standard of proof is far less stringent than what is required in a court of law, Sharman said.

“Impeachment is a remedy for an offence against the office. The constitution provides the Legislature greater latitude in determining what, in fact, is an impeachable offence,” Sharman said.

As for the possibility of additional criminal charges, the St. Louis prosecutor’s office says the investigation remains active but declined to discuss details.

In her testimony to lawmakers, the woman said Greitens slapped, grabbed, shoved and threatened her during unwanted sexual encounters. The woman involved with Greitens never sought charges. It’s unclear whether she may feel differently now that Greitens and his legal team have attacked that report. Her attorney, Scott Simpson, declined comment.

Washington University School of Law professor Peter Joy said the woman’s willingness or unwillingness to pursue new charges would be a major factor considered by prosecutors.

“The victim in any offence doesn’t make the final decision, but every prosecutor takes that into consideration, especially in a situation where it involves some kind of sexual assault,” Joy said.

Either way, experts say prosecutors would face significant hurdles if they decided to file a new charge.

“There was no report to police at the time. There was no physical examination of any sort,” said Mike Wolff, dean emeritus of the St. Louis University School of Law and former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. “So what the prosecutor has is really a classic he-said-she-said case, and I think that would be a really hard case to make.”

Joy said the woman’s willingness to continue the relationship for several months “also would be problematic in terms of the issue of consent.”

Regardless of whether Greitens might ever face additional criminal charges stemming from the affair, he does face political fallout, including mounting pressure from both Republicans and Democrats to resign.

“I think it’s going to be awfully difficult for him to survive politically,” said University of Missouri-Columbia political scientist Peverill Squire. “He thinks if he just stretches it out he can survive, but it’s hard to imagine that with the number of Republicans who have come out against him, there will be enough support to see him staying in the job.”

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Associated Press writers David A. Lieb and Summer Ballentine contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Mo.

Jim Salter, The Associated Press