COLUMBIA, Mo. — An attorney for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Tuesday sought to use a court hearing to advance the idea that allegations of abusive behavior by Greitens are part of a political conspiracy against him — an accusation flatly denied by an attorney for his ex-wife, Sheena Greitens.
At the Boone County courthouse, Eric Greitens’ attorney Gary Stamper told Associated Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider that he is seeking the cellphone records of Sheena Greitens and two other people to “confirm a sad suspicion.”
Stamper said he wanted to determine whether someone provided journalists with an affidavit signed by Sheena Greitens last month accusing Eric Greitens, now a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, of abuse before the document was accepted by a court clerk.
“It didn’t happen,” Helen Wade, Sheena Greitens’ attorney, told The Kansas City Star after the hearing. “I’m hopeful that that will become clear.”
Stamper’s subpoenas for phone records are part of a broader effort to cast the abuse allegations against Greitens as a conspiracy orchestrated by establishment Republicans. Eric Greitens, through his attorney, has denied the abuse allegations. He has not filed any sworn statements in the case, but has used social media and campaign emails to paint Sheena Greitens as a liar.
Sheena Greitens, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin, filed an affidavit last month alleging that Eric Greitens hit one of their two sons, knocking a tooth loose that was eventually removed.
She has also alleged that in April 2018, the former governor knocked her down in their Innsbrook home and took away her phone, wallet and keys to prevent her from seeking help.
“Eventually, the narrative created by (Sheena Greitens’ affidavit) will end,” Stamper told Schneider on Tuesday. “But that won’t happen until both parents have an opportunity to share in the telling of this story that was picked up the morning the motion was filed.”
Tuesday’s court hearing was related to a child custody battle between the couple in which Sheena Greitens is seeking to move the case to Texas, where she lives. Wade and attorneys for Catherine Linkul, Sheena Greitens’ sister, and Austin Chambers, Eric Greitens’ campaign manager, asked Schneider to quash the subpoenas filed by Stamper.
The subpoenas filed sought 57 days of cellphone records from Sheena Greitens, Linkul and Chambers. Stamper told Schneider he wanted to know “who was talking to who” when the affidavit was filed. He said Schneider should appoint a “special master” to review the cellphone records.
After hearing arguments from the attorneys for all four parties, Schneider said she would take the matter under advisement and issue a ruling later this week.
Wade, Sheena Greitens’ attorney, said Stamper’s request was a politically motivated “fishing expedition.” She said the subpoenas were an intimidation tactic unrelated to the question of moving the proceedings to Texas.
“Mr. Greitens has very publicly touted the conspiracy theory that brings us here today,” she said. “Specifically, that Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove and various other political operatives conspired with my client to draft and file this affidavit.”
Attorneys Kurt Schaefer and David Niemeier, who represented Chambers and Linkul, also argued that Schneider should quash the subpoenas.
“Mr. Greitens seeks almost two months of text messages and almost two months of call logs from my client Ms. Linkul from anyone. There’s no limitation whatsoever on these subpoenas,” Niemeier said. Eric Greitens “wants to find some type of evidence in order to impeach ... his ex-wife.”
Eric Greitens was elected as Missouri’s governor in 2016.
In 2018, allegations surfaced that he had taken a compromising photo of his hairdresser during an extramarital affair. An investigation by the Republican-controlled General Assembly also revealed allegations of sexually violent behavior, including that Greitens tied the woman to a pull-up bar in his basement and later forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Greitens denied those allegations but ultimately left office on June 1, 2018, as lawmakers appeared willing to impeach him.
Eric Greitens and Sheena Greitens separated in June 2018, according to court documents, and were divorced in 2020.
A hearing is set for May 27 in which Schneider could decide on Sheena Greitens’ motion to move the child custody proceedings to Texas. A hearing on Eric Greitens’ motion to send the proceedings to mediation is scheduled for May 10.
———
(The Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed to this story.)
———
