KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first time publicly, the woman with whom Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens admitted to having an affair is telling her side of the story.
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, spoke exclusively with KSDK-TV in St. Louis.
“I’m in the middle of the most difficult, crazy fight that I didn’t ask to be a part of,” she said in the interview. “And I feel like I’m this easy punching bag, yet I haven’t thrown any punches.”
This scandal became public on the night Greitens delivered the annual State of the State address in Jefferson City. That night, KMOV-TV first reported the affair and the allegations against the governor. He was accused of taking a compromising and unauthorized photo of a woman during the 2015 affair, but the felony charge stemming from the accusation has been dropped.
While Greitens admitted to the affair, he denies any criminal wrongdoing.
During the interview, the woman, who is referred to as K.S. in court documents, said no one had paid her and no one with any political motivations talked to her about coming forward.
The story only became public when the woman’s ex-husband came forward with a secret recording as part of the KMOV-TV report.
“I didn’t want this. I wasn’t out to get anyone. I really was just trying to live my life,” the woman told KSDK-TV.
In February, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney charged the Governor with invasion of privacy. Once that happened, the woman said she felt she should cooperate.
The charge was dismissed May 14 in preliminary stages of the trial after the court said it would allow Greitens' lawyers to question the prosecutor under oath, who said it would have been improper for her to be a witness in a trial her office was prosecuting.
On Monday, a judge appointed a special prosecutor. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker will decide whether to refile the charge.
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