A day after being charged with a second felony in St. Louis, Gov. Eric Greitens told party faithful in a rural Missouri high school gymnasium that he’s moving forward with his agenda.
In a 15-minute speech to about 150 gathered for the Texas County Lincoln Day dinner, the embattled Republican said nothing of the scandal that has engulfed his administration and threatens to bring gridlock to the Capitol.
Instead, he delivered a campaign-style speech that drew warm applause for the attendees.
“No matter what they throw at me, I want you to know that when I look to my left, I see you. And when I look to my right, I see our friends, families neighbors and communities. We’re moving forward,” Greitens said.
Texas County, located in south central Missouri, is the state’s largest in size and home to about 25,000 residents. It is also solidly Republican. In the 2016 election, Donald Trump garnered 81 percent of the vote against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Greitens, who has been defiant in saying he will fight the charges he faces, said the conservative agenda he brought to Jefferson City has been met with opposition.
“We have been viciously attacked by the liberal media and their allies,” Greitens said.
But, he said, “The good news in Missouri is that with the Republicans in charge, we’re delivering on our promise to bring more jobs and higher pay to the people of Missouri.”
Greitens, 44, was charged Friday in St. Louis Circuit Court with felony computer tampering for using a donor list from his former St. Louis-based charity to help raise money for his successful 2016 campaign.
Greitens also faces a May 14 trial on felony invasion of privacy charges stemming from a 2015 extramarital affair. He has refused calls to resign from within his own party that came after a Missouri House committee released a graphic report last week containing allegations of violence and sexual misconduct against Greitens.
The House is considering a special session that may lead to impeachment. The newest charge will give lawmakers more material to weigh as they decide how to proceed on that front when they return to action Monday.
But attendees gathered in the Licking High School gym said they still support the beleaguered governor and do not think he will be a liability in the 2018 mid-term elections.
Chris Daily, a Douglas County resident, was among a group wearing Greitens campaign shirts. She is opposed to any effort by lawmakers to remove him before his trial is held next month.
“I think they shouldn’t do anything,” Daily told the Post-Dispatch. “We still back him.”
Mike Pacheco of Houston, a correctional officer at the nearby maximum-security prison, also said lawmakers should slow down.
“Let him go to trial first,” Pacheco said. “I’m trying not to pay too much attention to it. Things like this can get blown out of proportion.”
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH