Speaker of the House Todd Richardson believes in light of the controversy surrounding Gov. Eric Greitens, the House will continue to focus on the priorities Missourians sent representatives to Jefferson City to tackle.
Greitens is scheduled for trial on May 14 in St. Louis on a felony indictment of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking and transmitting a non consensual photo of the woman while she was partially nude.
"The House continues to work diligently to the point that this is one of its most productive years in recent history in the amount of legislation we have moved to the Senate," Richardson said. "More importantly, we have passed substantive, meaningful legislation in nearly every major policy area that is part of our agenda to tackle our state's toughest challenges."
Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) formed the Special Investigative Oversight Committee, headed by Chairman Jay Barnes, at the end of February to investigate the allegations against Greitens.
The House unanimously approved a resolution March 1 that gave the Committee the task of conducting a fair and thorough investigation and reporting only the facts back to the full House, he said.
"The Committee will continue that investigation and recommend further action by the Missouri House," Richardson said.
After a graphic testimony released in a report Wednesday from the woman Greitens is said to have had an affair with, each of the seven members of the Special Investigative Oversight Committee signed the document.
The signed legislative report describes the woman's testimony as "credible."
"This was a Committee report prepared by some of the most respected members of the General Assembly," Richardson said. "Each member drew their own professional experiences to question and determine each witness's credibility."
The governor decided not to testify in front of the Committee despite repeated opportunities to present his version of the facts, Richardson said.
Separately, the Special Investigative Oversight Committee is to recommend after the legislative session ends on May 18 whether or not to pursue impeachment.
According to Richardson, the Committee will continue to gather additional information that comes to light with the expanded mission to provide members a recommendation of any and all appropriate disciplinary action of Greitens.