Eric Greitens’ attorney fights attempt to question former governor about abuse allegations

The attorney for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Wednesday asked a judge to halt an attempt to question the Republican U.S. Senate candidate under oath as part of his ongoing child custody dispute with his ex-wife.

At a deposition scheduled for next week, the lawyer for Sheena Greitens likely would have asked the former governor about allegations that he abused his ex-wife and their young children in 2018. It could have exposed the Senate candidate to damaging information just weeks before the Republican primary on Aug. 2.

The deposition would have been the first time Greitens, who stepped down as governor in 2018 following claims that he had blackmailed a woman to keep her quiet about an extramarital affair, answered questions under oath since his ex-wife’s abuse allegations were made public in March.

But Gary Stamper, Eric Greitens’ lawyer, on Wednesday asked Boone County Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider for an order protecting the former governor from attending the deposition. In a court filing, Stamper said he already has other cases scheduled for that day and both parties had not agreed to the deposition.

Helen Wade, the attorney for Greitens’ ex-wife Sheena Greitens, scheduled the deposition as part of the couple’s child custody battle. Sheena Greitens, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin, is seeking to move the case to Texas, where she now lives.

Wade did not respond to a call and email for comment Wednesday. Stamper declined comment on the filing.

The child custody case has received intense scrutiny since March after the former Missouri first lady filed an affidavit accusing her ex-husband of physical and emotional abuse against her and their children.

Eric Greitens, through Stamper, has painted the abuse allegations as a broader political conspiracy orchestrated by establishment Republicans. However, copies of Sheena Greitens’ communications shared with The Star rebut the former governor’s claims and show that she made the same allegations to a therapist and a lawyer in 2018.

In the communications and her sworn statement, Sheena Greitens references several times where her ex-husband was physically and emotionally abusive to her and their children. They include a time where the former governor allegedly hit one of his sons in the face while he was sitting in his booster seat. In another incident, Sheena Greitens said her son told her that the former governor grabbed him by the hair. She also wrote that her ex-husband pushed and knocked her over and took away her phone.

The former governor has not filed any sworn statements in the case, but has used social media and campaign emails to cast his ex-wife as a liar.

Greitens’ campaign tactics made their way into the child custody dispute last month in the aftermath of a campaign video that showed Eric Greitens hunting his perceived political enemies. Wade said Sheena Greitens received threats after the video’s release.