‘It was sex in the basement’ — McCaskill lampoons Greitens at Democratic event

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill held no punches when she ridiculed Gov. Eric Greitens at a Democratic event on Friday, drawing laughter and hoots as she poked fun at his extramarital affair.

“The governor, he was going to do things differently. He was going to shake things up. He was going to ride into Jefferson City and vanquish all those dirty, nasty politicians in both parties that were corrupt and bloated and ruining the government,” she said during a chili dinner in Columbia hosted by the Democratic Party in Boone County. “He was going to do things that literally no other governor had ever done...

“Little did we know it was sex in the basement.”

Chastising the governor seemed to be a theme of the night.

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway criticized his response to a tax refund audit.

“It is a pattern of secrecy and intimidation that has become a hallmark of this governor,” Galloway told the crowd, according to The Columbia Daily Tribune.

Greitens has admitted he had an extramarital affair in 2015, during a time when he was exploring a campaign for governor.

But he has vehemently denied any allegations that he tried to blackmail the woman into silence. He has been accused of taking a nude photograph of the woman — while she was blindfolded and her hands were bound — and threatening to release it if she spoke of the affair.

News of the affair and allegations of blackmail emerged earlier this month after a report by a St. Louis television station. The station interviewed the ex-husband of the woman with whom Greitens had an affair. That man also provided an audio recording of the woman confessing.

Several lawmakers from both parties have called for Greitens to resign, saying the scandal is interfering with the government’s ability to function. But Greitens has resisted those calls and said he’s committed to being governor of Missouri.

“I assure you that this personal mistake will not deter us from the mission we were sent here to do,” he wrote in a Facebook message earlier this month, adding, “…We will take our state in a new and better direction. There is still much work to be done, and we are back to work for the people of Missouri.”

Before news of his affair broke, Greitens spoke about the change he was bringing to Missouri during his State of the State address.

“We promised the people of Missouri we would do different. We have, and we will.”

Hours later, Greitens was denying allegations of blackmail while admitting to being unfaithful.

“A few years ago, before Eric was elected governor, there was a time when he was unfaithful in our marriage,” Greitens and his wife, Sheena, said in a joint statement. “This was a deeply personal mistake. Eric took responsibility, and we dealt with this together honestly and privately. While we never would have wished for this pain in our marriage, or the pain that this has caused others, with God’s mercy Sheena has forgiven and we have emerged stronger.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2018 at 9:27 AM with the headline "‘It was sex in the basement’ — McCaskill lampoons Greitens at Democratic event."