JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. _ Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday pledged to "continue in our mission to fight for the people of Missouri" in his first public appearance since St. Louis prosecutors dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy charge against him on Monday.
Flanked by two tractors, two pickups and a handful of taxpayer-paid security guards, Greitens, a Republican, gave a 10-minute speech to a crowd of supporters outside of the governor's mansion, announcing that his administration was no longer withholding $4 million that had been budgeted to aid biodiesel production.
The media event came as the GOP-controlled Missouri House will enter a special session on Friday to consider possible impeachment against the governor. Greitens faces a felony data tampering case in St. Louis, and an ongoing investigation by Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, a fellow Republican.
Greitens has declined to answer several questions about his legal troubles. Although media members were invited, Greitens did not answer their questions after the speech as he posed for pictures with supporters and power-walked back to a state SUV.
"Sir, sir, I so appreciate you taking the time to come out," he told a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter as he stopped to hug a supporter.
"Governor, if you did appreciate us coming out, you would answer some of our questions," the reporter responded.
Journalists pursued the governor back to the state SUV. They asked him whether he took a compromising photograph of his former lover, took a charity donor list for campaign purposes or used shell companies to conceal donor identities. One also asked if he would testify before the House committee investigating him.
He didn't answer.
Later, Jim Martin, one of Greitens' attorneys, told the Post-Dispatch that Greitens' attorneys have advised him not to talk to the media because St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner "is a reckless prosecutor. She continues to threaten inappropriate legal action. ... We cannot let the governor put himself at legal risk by answering press questions that could be misused by Kim Gardner."
Toward the end of his speech minutes earlier, Greitens slammed "rip-off artists" who are involved in low-income housing tax credits, which Greitens and his allies on the Missouri Housing Development Commission put the brakes on in December.
That move may have sparked backlash from some developers. In April, Greitens' attorneys revealed that attorney Al Watkins, who is representing the ex-husband of the woman who accused Greitens of invasion of privacy, received two $50,000 payments with murky origins. Some have speculated tax credit proponents played a role in the payments, although Watkins said this week that a wealthy Republican donor provided the money.
Greitens also recalled Navy SEAL training, when he hadn't slept for 72 hours. He and his team were carrying a log down a sandy beach. He may have quit if he had been alone, he said. But he looked to his left and right and saw teammates who depended on him.
"No matter what they throw at me," he told the crowd, near the end of his speech, "no matter how painful they try to make it, no matter how much suffering they want to put me and my family through _ and my team through _ I want to let you know that when I look to my left I see you. And when I look to my right, I see your family and your friends and our neighbors and our community.
"And I am telling you this," Greitens said. "We are going to step forward day after day after day and we are going to continue in our mission to fight for the people of Missouri."
