MISSOURI--Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on Tuesday said he was resigning, avoiding potential impeachment after he became embroiled in scandals tied to an extramarital affair and his political fundraising.
Greitens called a press conference after an unfavorable ruling earlier in his computer tampering trial related to allegations he illegally obtained a donor list to aid his 2016 election campaign from a veterans' charity he founded in 2007, according to local media.
"Today I am announcing that I will resign as governor of Missouri, effective Friday," Greitens told reporters.
"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," he said, adding that he had not broken any laws or committed any crimes. "For the moment let us walk off the battlefield with our heads held high."
The Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly on May 18 began a special session to consider what disciplinary steps to take against the first-term Republican governor, including possible impeachment.
Greitens, a 44-year-old former Navy SEAL commando once seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, was previously charged with felony invasion of privacy in connection with an admitted extramarital affair in 2015 with a hairdresser before he was elected. He has said he is innocent and called the relationship consensual. St. Louis prosecutors dropped the felony charge before Greitens' trial got underway but have said they would refile the case.
Greitens was accused of taking a photo of his lover in a state of undress without her consent and making it accessible by computer to use as retaliation should she divulge their relationship. He has denied threatening to blackmail her and his attorneys noted the alleged photograph has never been produced.
Greitens had previously called the charges against him part of a political witch hunt and on Tuesday he complained of "legal harassment" with "no end in sight." No Missouri governor has ever been impeached.
Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson, also a Republican, will take over as the state's top politician.
