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Gov. Eric Greitens announced his resignation Tuesday afternoon at a press conference outside his office in Jefferson City. His last day in office will be Friday, June 1. Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson will then become governor.
"The last few months have been incredibly difficult for me, for my family, for my team, for my friends, and for many, many people that I love," Greitens said. "This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family... Millions of dollars in mounting legal bills, endless personal attacks designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends... And it's clear for the forces that oppose us, there is no end in sight. I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love."
The announcement comes amid a special Missouri House committee's investigation to consider his impeachment, as well as two scandals regarding an extramarital affair that allegedly involved sexual coercion and alleged misuse of campaign funds through his nonprofit The Mission Continues.
The former scandal resulted in a felony charge of invasion of privacy, which has since been dropped by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner; a judge recently appointed Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker as the special prosecutor who will decide whether to refile the charge.
In the latter case, a Cole County judge ruled earlier Tuesday that the governor's campaign must reveal fundraising information, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. At a press conference on Wednesday, Gardner revealed her office will drop Greitens' charge of computer tampering. "Sometimes pursuing charges is not the right thing to do for our city or our state," she said.
"I am not perfect," Greitens said at Tuesday's press conference. "But I have not broken any laws or committed any offense worthy of this treatment. I will let the fairness of this process be judged by history."
Local lawmakers reacted shortly after the announcement. Senator Roy Blunt said Greitens made "the best decision for his family."
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson thanked Greitens for his service and hopes that "we get back to working for the people."
A KSDK producer tweeted that Senator Claire McCaskill said she looks forward to working with Parson.
Missouri Attorney General and Senate candidate Josh Hawley said Greitens has "done the right thing."
In a statement, Missouri Senate Democratic leader Gina Walsh said, "Innocent people don't resign and criminals don't get let off the hook simply because they cut and run. Missourians deserve to know what laws were broken, what lies were told, and how deep the corruption went."
Editor's Note: This article has been updated with additional information.
