Now here’s some genuinely surprising news out of Missouri: Governor Eric Greitens, who has for months been trying to fight off accusations of wrongdoing ranging from horrifying sexual misconduct to violations of campaign finance law, has at last chosen to bow out of public life with a modicum of grace: The governor announced his resignation Tuesday, five months after he was first pitched into scandal over accusations that he had taken a nude photograph of his mistress without her consent. He will be succeeded on June 1 by Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson.
In his press conference breaking the news, Greitens, who was facing impeachment in the Missouri legislature as well as a bevy of criminal charges, took one final whack at everyone involved. “This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family,” Greittens said. “Traveling the state, I have talked to many of you who harbor extraordinary anger at this ordeal and for those who have pushed and promoted it. For those who would be moved to vengeance, let us allow history and God to bring justice.” Coming from Greitens, who has for months attempted to smear Republican and Democratic investigators alike as incompetent partisan witch hunters, this was almost magnanimous.
Then again, it’s not like the governor had much choice: A judge ruled earlier Tuesday that Greitens must comply with subpoenas from the state government seeking information about an alleged campaign finance violation, which the Missouri House had sought as it deliberated whether to impeach Greitens. This alleged violation, which involved the nonprofit A New Missouri, was not even the only campaign finance misdeed of which Greitens was accused: State Attorney General Josh Hawley alleged last month that Greitens had also stolen a donor list from his former charity, the Mission Continues, as he laid the fundraising groundwork for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign. Piled atop the dizzying allegations of sexual misconduct, it appears the judge’s ruling was the straw that finally broke the governor’s back.
Greitens’ decision to quit comes as a serious relief for the state’s Republican party, which has been embarrassed by the ordeal for months—and particularly for Hawley, who is currently running to unseat Democratic senator Claire McCaskill this year. Hawley has found himself in the unenviable position of trying to rally the state’s Republican voters behind him while pressing criminal charges against the state’s Republican governor—while enduring personal attacks from that governor the while. “Governor Greitens has done the right thing today,” Hawley said in a statement Tuesday. “This office’s work for the people of Missouri goes forward.”
For Greitens, it comes as a staggering end to a political career that was once seen as limitless. The former Navy SEAL, whom Fortune listed as one of the world’s 50 greatest leaders in 2014, had once harbored ambitions of a presidential run. No longer.
And for that, other Republicans are grateful to see him gone. “It’s a great thing for Missouri, the conservative movement, and the Republican Party that Eric Greitens has resigned in disgrace,” Missouri GOP strategist Gregg Keller told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “His resignation speech, in which he gracelessly accepted zero blame for his situation, was disappointing but not surprising. I hope Eric gets the help he needs.”
