Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens resigns

Greitens’ resignation, effective June 1, comes after he has been plagued by scandal over the last few months and faced allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as a felony charge for computer tampering related to his alleged misuse of a donor list from the veterans organization he founded.

His decision to step down from the post marks a sharp fall for the governor, who was elected in 2016 and considered a rising star in the GOP.

“This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family. Millions of dollars of mounting legal bills, endless personal attacks designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends, legal harassment of colleagues, friends, and campaign workers, and it’s clear that for the forces that oppose us, there’s no end in sight,” Greitens said during a press conference announcing his resignation. “I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love. I know and people of good faith know that I am not perfect. But I have not broken any laws nor committed any offense worthy of this treatment.”

Greitens found himself at the center of controversy after it was revealed he had an affair with his former hairdresser before he ran for governor.

The woman claimed she and Greitens had several sexual encounters, some of which were consensual and others that were not. She claimed Greitens was physically and sexually violent toward her, called her derogatory names and threatened to blackmail her if she went public with the affair.

Details about Greitens’ affair with the woman were made public earlier this year after her ex-husband covertly recorded a phone conversation between them. The woman said Greitens took an explicit photo of her without her consent and used it to blackmail her to keep the affair, which occurred in 2015, quiet.

A St. Louis grand jury indicted the governor in February on one count of invasion of privacy stemming from the photo, but prosecutors dropped the charge in May.

In April, an investigatory committee convened by the Missouri House of Representatives released a graphic report that detailed the woman’s encounters with Greitens. In the report, the woman detailed the incident during which Greitens took the photo of her without her consent. She also claimed the governor forced her to perform oral sex on him.

During another encounter detailed in the report, the woman said the governor slapped her.

Greitens denied the allegations, calling the report “tabloid trash gossip” and the investigation a “political witch hunt.”

The governor still faces a charge of felony computer tampering of computer data related to his gubernatorial campaign’s use of a donor list from the veterans organization he founded in 2007.

Greitens allegedly used the list from The Mission Continues to solicit donations for his campaign in 2015.

Following the revelations about Greitens’ extramarital relationship and the allegations surrounding his use of the donor list from The Mission Continues, the governor faced mounting calls to resign.

Missouri lawmakers were considering impeaching the embattled governor, and members of the investigatory committee subpoenaed him to testify before the panel June 4.

Despite the growing pressure, Greitens had resisted the calls to step down.

Just last week, the governor launched a six-figure TV ad campaign designed to run through June that attacked “fake news” coverage of the accusations against him.

Following his resignation, Greitens will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, a former state legislator.

Reporter David M. Drucker contributed to this article.