Scandal-plagued Missouri governor resigns The Republican faced a swirling investigation spanning multiple allegations of misconduct.

Scandal-plagued Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens announced his resignation on Tuesday.

The governor made the announcement at a press conference in Jefferson City. Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, will become governor.


“The last few months have been incredibly difficult for me, for my family, for my team, for my friends, and for many, many people that I love. This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family,” Greitens said.

Greitens is confronting a swirling legislative and criminal investigation into his conduct — inquiries that have spanned from invasion of privacy charges involving a former mistress, to possible campaign finance violations, to alleged misuse of a charity for political donor purposes.

Last week, a Missouri House committee investigating the governor issued a subpoena ordering him to answer questions. And earlier on Tuesday a judge ordered a pro-Greitens outside political group to turn over documents that could show improper coordination with the governor’s 2016 campaign committee.

“Millions of dollars of mounting legal bills, endless personal attacks designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends, legal harassment of colleagues, friends, and campaign workers, and it's clear that for the forces that oppose us, there's no end in sight,” Greitens said.

“I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love. I know and people of good faith know that I am not perfect,” he added.

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National Republicans had worried that the Greitens scandal would overshadow their prospects of defeating Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in November. Republican candidate and state Attorney General Josh Hawley had called on Greitens to resign, a decision that inflamed conservatives in the state who were lined up behind the governor.

