Gov. Eric Greitens now has a Missouri Capitol lobbyist
As he tries to fend off possible impeachment in the Missouri House, Gov. Eric Greitens will have the help of a lobbyist roaming the halls of the state Capitol.
Last week Aaron Baker, who is employed by the consulting firm of veteran Republican operative Jeff Roe, disclosed to the Missouri Ethics Commission that he was lobbying on behalf of Dowd Bennett, a St Louis law firm defending Greitens against a felony invasion of privacy indictment handed down by a grand jury.
Wednesday morning, Baker disclosed to the ethics commission that as part of his duties representing Dowd Bennett he also would be lobbying on behalf of Greitens.
On the same day that he registered to lobby for Greitens, Baker also registered as a lobbyist for Joplin businessman and GOP mega donor David Humphreys.
Humphreys personally donated nearly $1.3 million to Greitens' campaign in 2016. Members of his family gave Greitens an additional $1 million.
Baker could not immediately be reached for comment.
The charges against Greitens stem from allegations that he threatened to release a nude photograph of a woman, taken while she was blindfolded and her hands were bound, if she spoke about their 2015 affair.
The governor has admitted to the affair but denies the blackmail accusations.
The criminal investigation, led by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, is ongoing.
The Missouri House has formed a committee to investigate the allegations, the first procedural step toward impeachment.
The Special Investigative Committee on Oversight is led by Rep. Jay Barnes, a Jefferson City Republican, and made up of five Republicans and two Democrats. The committee will conduct its investigation and report back to the House within 40 days. It has subpoena power, is permitted to hire a private investigator and will be allowed to close testimony to the public to protect witnesses.
At the completion of its investigation, if good cause is found, the committee could draft articles of impeachment to be reported to the House.
A constitutional majority in the House — 82 of the chamber’s 163 members — would be needed to impeach Greitens.
The House currently has 115 Republicans and 47 Democrats.
In addition to Baker, Humphreys also hired the Gamble & Schlemeier lobbying firm to represent him in the Capitol. Seven members of that firm disclosed they were lobbying for Humphreys last Friday.
Greitens retaining a lobbyist is an unusual turn of events for a governor whose successful 2016 campaign was based on the premise that lobbyists and insiders were corrupting state government.
“I will defeat you,:" he said in a speech kicking off his campaign. "I will expose your lies. I will root out your corruption. I will see you out of the people’s Capitol, even if in sight of the statue of Thomas Jefferson I have to throw you down the steps of the Capitol myself.”
The rhetoric continued after he was sworn into office, saying during his first State of the State address last year that "too many good, strong public servants have come (to the Capitol) only to see the will of the people obstructed and corrupted by insiders and lobbyists."
This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 10:01 AM with the headline "Gov. Eric Greitens now has a Missouri Capitol lobbyist."