Missouri GOP Governor Admits To Affair Amid Allegations He Blackmailed Woman With Naked Photos

Missouri’s Republican Governor Eric Greitens, who campaigned for office on being “a proud husband and father,” admitted on Wednesday to an extramarital affair amid allegations that he tied a woman up, blindfolded her, took photos of her naked body without her consent, and then threatened to release them if she revealed their relationship, The Washington Post reports.

“A few years ago … there was a time when he was unfaithful in our marriage,” Greitens and his wife said in a statement released Wednesday.

Joint Statement from Sheena and I pic.twitter.com/t3DT6V0Gba

— Eric Greitens (@EricGreitens) January 11, 2018

“This was a deeply personal mistake. Eric took responsibility, and we dealt with this together honestly and privately,” the joint statement said.

A local TV station played audio in which the victim discusses being bound to a piece of exercise equipment and blindfolded at Greitens’s home in 2015.

“You’re never going to mention my name, otherwise this picture will be everywhere,” Greitens reportedly told the woman.

The Greitens’ attorney denies the “blackmail” claims.

“And that claim is false,” attorney James Bennett said.

“The outrageous claims of improper contact regarding these almost three-year-ago events are a lie.”