JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) A former campaign aide to Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens testified that he was duped into taking the fall when the governors campaign was trying to explain how it had gotten a list of top donors to a veterans charity that Greitens had founded, according to a legislative report released Wednesday.
The report from a special House investigatory committee indicates that Greitens himself received the donor list of The Mission Continues so he could call key supporters and explain that he was stepping down as CEO in 2014. It says Greitens later directed political aides to work off the charitys list to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign even though he had signed an agreement never to disclose the charitys confidential donor information.
The report shows the governor took advantage of a charity that works hard to take care of our veterans, said Republican Rep. Jay Barnes, chairman of the bipartisan committee charged with investigating whether to try to impeach and remove the first-term Republican governor from office. The charity donor list was taken without permission and used inappropriately for political gain.
