WASHINGTON _ Vice President Mike Pence's office says it has canceled a Missouri rally and fundraiser next month because of a scheduling conflict _ and not out of concern that the trip would too closely coincide with the upcoming felony trial of Gov. Eric Greitens, with whom Pence has had some close political ties.
Pence won't attend a previously announced public rally in Springfield, Mo., scheduled for May 9, nor a fundraiser that night for U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley, the White House said Tuesday.
A White House spokeswoman said the Springfield event was never confirmed, but that the vice president plans to come to Missouri in the weeks after that date. She said the Hawley fundraiser also would happen at that later date.
The spokeswoman said Pence now must be in Washington on May 9 for a Cabinet meeting and Latin America Policy Lunch with the Council of the Americas Board of Directors. Pence also is scheduled to address a plenary session of the Organization of American States gathering that week.
Hawley, currently Missouri attorney general, is seeking the GOP Senate nomination in August, vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
According to an invitation obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the May 9 Pence fundraiser for Hawley was to cost between $1,000 per person to $25,000 per couple for various levels of interaction with Pence.
A Hawley spokeswoman referred questions about the fundraiser to the White House.
Greitens is scheduled to stand trial starting May 14 on a felony charge of invasion of privacy, part of a wider sex-and-violence scandal that has engulfed his administration and caused top fellow Missouri Republicans to call for his resignation or removal.
Pence was a key supporter of Greitens' 2016 gubernatorial campaign. Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is a former Greitens campaign operative. Pence and Greitens have appeared at multiple events together, including a joint cleanup effort at a vandalized Jewish cemetery in St. Louis last year.
The White House has previously called the Greitens situation "very concerning," but hasn't called for his resignation.
Hawley has called for Greitens' resignation and recently announced that his office had found evidence of criminal activity by Greitens related to his campaign's use of a donor list from a charity Greitens co-founded.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's office subsequently charged Greitens with felony computer tampering, which is a separate case from the invasion-of-privacy trial that started May 14.
The invasion-of-privacy charge against Greitens stems from an allegation by his former hair stylist, who has claimed that Greitens snapped a nonconsensual, partly nude photo of her during a sexual encounter in the basement of his St. Louis home in 2015, the year before he was elected governor.
Greitens has admitted having an extramarital affair with the woman but denied any criminal violation. He also has denied the woman's claim that he struck, shoved and belittled her during several encounters.
The computer-tampering charge stems from allegations that Greitens illegally co-opted a donor list from The Mission Continues, a charity he co-founded to help returning war veterans to continue serving in society, and used it to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign.
Greitens has claimed in statements that he has done nothing illegal regarding the charity or his campaign.
