Attorney for Greitens’ alleged victim wants to release full testimony

The attorney for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ alleged victim wants to release his client’s full testimony after Greitens’ team promoted the idea that she dreamed the governor had taken a photo of her without her consent.

"Gov. Greitens has admitted to my client, on multiple occasions, that he took her photograph, without her consent, and threatened to release it if she ever told anyone about their relationship,” Scott Simpson, the woman’s St. Charles-based attorney, said in a statement late Monday.

“Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, Gov. Greitens has decided to let his team attack my client by mischaracterizing her deposition testimony," Simpson said.

Greitens’ legal team filed a motion Sunday that quoted a small portion of the woman’s deposition testimony in which she said she wasn’t sure whether she saw Greitens holding a phone during the 2015 incident at the center of the criminal case.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m remembering it through a dream or I — I’m not sure, but yet, I feel like I saw it after that happened, but I haven’t spoken about it because of that,’” the woman was quoted as saying during her deposition.

The case centers on whether Greitens took a photograph of the woman without her consent during an extramarital affair. Prosecutors have previously admitted that they do not possess the photograph.

Greitens’ political team heavily promoted the news of the motion. His campaign sent an email to supporters that included links to coverage by Fox News and KSHB.

“This new breaking news comes after the team for the prosecutor's office has already admitted multiple times that they do not have a photograph. It’s time to end this political witch hunt,” the email from Greitens' campaign said.

Greitens' campaign also paid for promoted tweets, which reach a larger audience on Twitter, to encourage people to read the Fox story.

Simpson said his team would support the release of the complete transcript of his client's testimony "to set the record straight" as long as her name and other identifying information remains redacted.

“The governor can continue to try this case in the media, but at his trial, the facts will speak for themselves,” he said.

The governor's trial for felony invasion of privacy will take place May 14. A legislative committee is set to release a report this week in Jefferson City based on its own investigation.

The allegations were first made public by the woman's ex-husband in a January interview with KMOV. The ex-husband's attorney, Al Watkins, announced Tuesday that his client was asking for donations to help cover his attorneys' fees.

Watkins said that cash, checks, money orders, credit and debit cards would all be accepted.

"Return bottles will be accepted if clean and in a carrying receptacle," Watkins said in the statement. "Also in keeping with the Governor’s established protocol, those who give will not be disclosed."

Watkins referred to Greitens as the "not yet former Governor" and ended his statement by saying that any excess funds raised "will be used to buy beer, screw top bottles of wine, and/or hard liquor. If there is a whole lot of extra change, it may be spent on party chips, dips, and soda pop for the kids!"

This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Attorney for Greitens’ alleged victim wants to release full testimony."