Missouri state-paid attorney accused of ‘ethically inappropriate’ investigation of Gov. Greitens' blackmail victim

Missouri's Republican governor of Missouri is alleged to have sent a state attorney to investigate a woman only hours before KMOV-TV revealed a bombshell report accusing Gov. Eric Greitens of using revenge-porn to blackmail a former mistress, the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreported Monday.

Lucinda Luetkemeyer, an attorney in the governor's office, was recorded speaking with St. Louis attorney Albert Watkins, who was representing a client whose wife was married to the blackmail victim.

"Can I just ask you this question, Al?" Luetkemeyer inquired in the audio recording. "Is your client talking to anyone in the media right now?"

Watkins said the recorded conversation occurred approximately 8 hours before the bombshell news.

Gov. Greitens has admitted the affair but denied blackmailing his former mistress.

"I found it chillingly disturbing that she would make that call as a state-paid employee," Watkins said.

"Unless some action he has taken in regard to this matter while serving as governor is involved — and that would seem to raise even more political problems — it would seem ethically inappropriate to draw on public resources to defend himself," University of Missouri-Columbia political science professor Peverill Squire suggested.

On Thursday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreleased gut-wrenching audio detailing the allegations against the conservative governor.

Also on Monday, Greitens cancelled his planned statewide tour to promote tax cuts.

Greitens has also been accused of slapping his mistress.

The latest revelations may corroborate a pattern of physical intimidation by the governor, who is a former Navy SEAL who fired military weaponry in multiple campaign ads.

“The serious allegations against Missouri Governor Eric Greitens are very troubling,” Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Thursday. “After further consideration, I have decided to launch an investigation into the alleged actions of Governor Greitens.

“The Governor will be back in the office after the holliday (sic) weekend," spokesman Parker Briden told the Post-Dispatch Monday.