JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. _ Washington University in St. Louis is investigating whether scandal-plagued Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens misused grant funds in the run-up to his 2016 bid for governor.
As part of an ongoing investigation into Greitens by the Missouri Attorney General's Office and a special panel of Missouri lawmakers, former campaign aide Danny Laub testified under oath last month that he was paid $3,250 in 2014 with the proceeds of a grant that Greitens had won to do research for his fourth book, "Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life."
Representatives for Greitens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At that time, Laub was helping Greitens lay the groundwork for a statewide campaign for governor by searching out potential donors and collecting research on potential opponents, records show.
Among his potential duties, according to documents included in the scathing House report, was to map out endorsements from well-known conservative Republican politicians and other national luminaries, including former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, who had once interviewed Greitens on the Comedy Central show.
Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, won the John Templeton Foundation grant worth $362,000 in 2010. It was administered by Washington University.
Julie Hail Flory, assistant vice chancellor for campus communications, said the issue came to the university's attention as part of the investigation being conducted by the House committee.
"As a grantee, we take accountability seriously. We are looking into the matter to ensure the funds were used appropriately," Flory told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Florie said university policy "clearly states that university resources cannot be used for campaign activities." That includes grants like the one Greitens received.
The Pennsylvania-based foundation also is reviewing the payments.
Greitens, a former Navy Seal, founded The Mission Continues in 2007. His alleged use of a fundraising list from the charity is under investigation.
"We are aware of the allegations and we are investigating the matter," the foundation said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch Friday.
In his testimony, which was conducted by Attorney General Josh Hawley's office, Laub was asked if he was paid by Washington University at some point.
"Yes. I received two checks from this grant," Laub said.
Later, Laub is asked if the grant was for work on Greitens' book.
"I believe so. I wasn't intimately involved in that process, but I believe so," Laub said.
When asked if was party to any communications between Greitens, his company and Washington University and the 'Resilience' book tour, Laub said, "Zero."
Krystal Proctor, who was in charge of the book tour on behalf of Greitens, also testified that Laub was Greitens' consultant on campaign matters and, later, his campaign manager.
Nonetheless, Laub testified that Proctor directed him to invoice some of his pay through the university grant.
Use of grant money to pay for political work would follow a pattern outlined in the House's latest report released on Wednesday. The investigation found that Greitens ran an off-the-books political campaign before he formally entered the race, took a private charity's donor list to raise campaign funds and lied about that list in a signed statement to the state's ethics commission.
The report showed Greitens and associates lied in campaign filings, a class A misdemeanor, and violated campaign finance law _ a civil offense _ when he operated a shadow campaign before filing required paperwork with election authorities.
On Thursday, Republican leaders in the House and Senate announced they had acquired enough signatures from lawmakers to schedule a special session that could lead to Greitens impeachment and removal from office.
The report and its hundreds of pages of testimony plot the former Navy SEAL's methodical rise to win the governor's seat while relying on money he raised from members of the charity's donor list that he had pledged to keep private.
Laub's testimony suggests Greitens also may have relied on money from the Pennsylvania-based foundation to seed his run for office.
In the acknowledgements section of "Resilience," Greitens thanked the foundation for its support.
"I thank the team there, and hope that this work reflects the twin virtues of humility and curiosity exemplified in their motto, 'How little we know, how eager to learn,'" Greitens wrote.
