GOP's Greitens accused of illegally diverting $100,000 from state account to pay for Senate run

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, now running for Senate, has been accused of illegal campaign finance tactics by a watchdog group. The group has accused Greitens of using his state campaign fund to pay for unrelated expenses.

"In a complaint filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission, Washington-based Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit focused on campaign finance laws and ethics, said the Republican spent more than $100,000 from his Missouri account to finance the startup costs of his political comeback attempt," reported Kurt Erickson. "The potentially unlawful spending included payments to a longtime aide who is now his Senate campaign manager, as well as to public relations firms and media consulting firms, and for digital media costs, the complaint noted."

"In one example, the complaint alleges Greitens spent $18,000 from his state account to develop a website and then began using a very similar website when he announced his Senate bid in March. To account for that expense, the complaint says Greitens made an $18,000 contribution to his Senate campaign," continued the report — all of which could be an illegal misrepresentation of the funds under federal transparency laws.

Greitens previously resigned in disgrace as governor of Missouri after allegations that he blackmailed a woman with whom he was either sexually involved, or possibly sexually assaulted. He has also been accused of felony computer tampering for misusing a charity donor list to fund his bid for governor, although that charge was ultimately dropped.

He is one of many in a crowded field of Republicans seeking the Senate nomination for Missouri's open Senate seat, another being Mark McCloskey, a personal injury lawyer who became famous for brandishing a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters.