Eric Greitens’ ex-wife accuses him of domestic violence

The ex-spouse of Eric Greitens, Missouri’s former governor and a recent Republican prospect for U.S. Senate, alleged he was physically abusive and “unstable,” according to court docket documents submitted on Monday.

Sheena Greitens has been portion of an ongoing kid custody battle with Eric Greitens and filed a sworn affidavit Monday that accuses the previous governor of abuse toward her and their young children. 

“Prior to our divorce, through an argument in late April 2018, Eric knocked me down and confiscated my cell cellular phone, wallet, and keys so that I was unable to connect with for assist or extricate myself and our young children from our home,” the affidavit claims. “In early June 2018, I grew to become afraid for my safety and that of our small children at our residence, which was pretty isolated, due to Eric’s unstable and coercive conduct. This conduct provided physical violence towards our small children, this sort of as cuffing our then 3-calendar year-old son across the facial area at supper in front of me and yanking him close to by his hair.”

Their divorce was finalized in May well 2020 and a county courtroom determination said the relationship was “irretrievably damaged” and that a joint parenting prepare is “in [the] greatest interest of small small children.” Nevertheless, now, Eric Greitens states he would like complete custody of the two small children.

In a statement unveiled on Tuesday, Sheena Greitens reported that she stands by her affidavit and did not go over its contents with everyone apart from her lawyer and, soon after the affidavit was submitted, her fast family.

“My only fascination is what is actually best for my two children, and for the very last four many years, I have gone to great lengths to preserve these relatives matters non-public to secure them,” she explained in her assertion. “I am not intrigued in litigating this issue any where other than the courtroom. At the suitable time in the authorized approach, I will deliver no matter what proof and documentation the court requests, together with testimony less than oath.”  

Sheena Greitens has pushed for jurisdiction of the situation to be moved to Travis County courtroom in Texas for the reason that she reported their children have used most of their time in new several years in Austin, and she mentioned she fears Eric Greitens would make use of his system as a Senate candidate in Missouri to assault her, in accordance to the affidavit. She recognized a position as an associate professor at the University of Texas in 2020. 

In a assertion, Eric Greitens slammed his ex-wife’s accusations and claimed “eventually real truth will constantly prevail.”

“I will proceed to appreciate and treatment for my stunning sons with all of my being, and that includes preventing for the real truth and towards totally fabricated, baseless allegations,” Greitens claimed. “I am trying to get entire custody of my sons, and for their sake, I will keep on to pray for their mother and hope that she will get the aid that she requirements.”

Greitens’ campaign mentioned in a assertion that the affidavit is part of a “politically-determined attack.” 

“His little ones are entitled to a father who will discuss the reality and stand up from destructive assaults that are obviously politically enthusiastic. This attack is almost nothing far more than a unhappy try to drive a father to yield custody of his small children to a deranged unique,” the campaign stated.  

Greitens was as soon as seen as a soaring star in the celebration and had served just more than one yr as Missouri’s governor just before he resigned in 2018 right after allegations of sexual misconduct and blackmail for allegedly having a photograph of his former hairdresser with whom he was obtaining an affair, as effectively as an ethics investigation and a personal computer information tampering felony demand.

The girl instructed a Missouri Home unique committee that she thought Greitens experienced photographed her naked without her consent before he was elected governor and threatened to blackmail the female if she spoke about the affair. Eric Greitens admitted to the affair and called it consensual, but denied getting the photograph and the blackmail accusation. No photograph was uncovered on his cell telephone. Prosecutors dropped an invasion of privacy charge related to the alleged incident in May 2018. 

Also in 2018, St. Louis circuit lawyer Kim Gardner billed Greitens with laptop facts tampering due to an accusation that he utilized a donors checklist from a charity business he established for his 2016 campaign for governor. That charge was dropped in Could 2018. 

The ethics investigation finished in 2020, concluding that whilst Greitens bears responsibility for his campaign’s faults for not reporting two massive campaign donations, the investigation discovered “no proof of any wrongdoing on the aspect of Eric Greitens, individually.” Greitens announced he would be jogging for Senate in March 2021. 

In her affidavit, Sheena Greitens alleged that “Eric’s habits also involved threats in purchase to coerce me to do or to chorus from stating or executing certain factors.”

“After Eric admitted to me in late January 2021 that he experienced taken the photo that resulted in the invasion of privacy charge, he threatened that I would be exposed to lawful jeopardy if I at any time disclosed that point to anyone, even spouse and children associates or a therapist,” the affidavit says. 

Sheena Greteins’ affidavit also alleged that throughout the early summer season of 2018, “Eric frequently threatened to destroy himself except I furnished unique public guidance to him.” She reported that she and other individuals tried using to restrict Eric’s entry to firearms “on at the very least three independent occasions” in 2018. Just after Eric Greitens allegedly refused to disclose the site of the weapon in June 2018, Sheena said in the affidavit that she “started sleeping in my children’s place only to try out to retain them risk-free.”

The affidavit also states that Eric Greitens threatened to accuse Sheena of little one abuse if she did not delete e-mail sent to her therapist about Eric’s actions. It also claims Eric termed her “hateful, disgusting, awful vicious” and a “lying b****” although accusing her of supplying details to prosecutors who were being investigating him and to the St. Louis Put up-Dispatch. 

Subsequent that contact, Sheena Greitens explained that she tried using to take their youngsters to her parents’ dwelling “out of ongoing panic for our security.”

“When I informed Eric about my ideas, he threatened to occur to the airport and have me arrested for kidnapping and youngster abuse, stating that mainly because of his authority as a former governor who experienced supported legislation enforcement, the police would support him and not imagine me, and I would reduce our little ones,” the affidavit alleges. 

Sheena Greitens also said that in November 2019, their son Joshua returned from a stop by with Eric “with a swollen face, bleeding gums, and unfastened tooth.” Joshua “said Father had strike him” although Eric “claimed they were roughhousing and it had been an accident,” according to the affidavit. The tooth was surgically taken out in May well 2020. 

“Missouri court docket procedures governing divorced parties’ carry out towards one a different supply a powerful incentive for spouses to well timed disclose to the court any point-based mostly and genuine worries relating to the troubles this kind of as the allegations contained in Mother’s unsolicited affidavit at the earliest opportunity prior to a divorce decree is entered,” Eric Greitens’ attorney Gary Stamper stated in a statement emailed to CBS News. 

“A neutral observer may conclude that Mother’s admitted silence by way of the discord popular to failing marriages, although concurrently concocting an useful technique to circumvent a formerly agreed upon court buy, indicates her enthusiasm may be less than honorable,” he added. “The recent filing confirms the wisdom of Mark Twain:  “A lie can travel half way all-around the globe even though the reality is putting on its footwear.” The only audience that issues now is the decide who approved the parties’ agreement and has the electrical power to adjust it.”

Right after information of the affidavit broke, Stamper submitted a request to seal the case’s documents and proceedings, claiming the files would bring about “irreparable damage” to Greitens popularity and that his “fascination in safeguarding his name and standing in the community in the experience of this sort of inflammatory allegations outweigh the public’s fascination in favor of openness of point out and county information.” In that motion, Stamper denied the fact of the allegations introduced in Sheena Greitens’ affidavit. 

Eric Greitens is portion of a crowded discipline of Republicans hunting to do well retiring Republican Senator Roy Blunt. Also in the industry are Missouri Lawyer General Eric Schmitt, Representatives Billy Lengthy and Vicky Hartzler, as nicely as Mark McCloskey, a St. Louis injuries law firm most known for waving guns at protestors close to his home in the summer season of 2020.

A late February poll from the Republican-leaning Trafalgar Team confirmed Greitens leading the GOP key discipline. Some Republicans have expressed worries that if Greitens wins the GOP nomination, it could make the seat additional competitive in an normally probably Republican point out. Former President Donald Trump gained the point out by around 15 factors in 2020. 

Hartzler named for Eric Greitens to fall out of the U.S. Senate race and “look for rapid qualified assist,” in accordance to the St. Louis Publish-Dispatch. Schmitt, Extended and Lucas Kunce, a Maritime and Democratic prospect in the race, also known as for Greitens to phase down.

“He is unfit to provide,” stated Kunce. “I concur with Vicky Hartzler that he requirements to right away fall out of the race.”

“The habits described in this affidavit is trigger for Eric Greitens to be in prison, not on the ballot for U.S. Senate.  He ought to conclusion his marketing campaign immediately,” Schmitt tweeted. 

Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who has endorsed Hartzler, also called on Greitens to fall out of the race. 

Missouri’s major is slated for August 2. The deadline for candidates to file for the most important is March 29, 2022.