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UNFIT: Why Eric Greitens Must Never Be Governor

By Adam McLain, Patriots for America

Once again, disturbing revelations about Eric Greitens’ campaign for governor have rocked the Missouri political world; this time, however, it is a disgusting scandal without parallel. Evidently, he will do literally anything to obtain the prestige and status that the Governorship would bestow upon him. This latest bombshell isn’t a team of SEALs further refuting his claims of military valor, new details regarding his Democratic past, or the fact that he is accepting tens of thousands of dollars from out of state liberals attempting to buy his support – this time it is far worse than even these disturbing reports. This time, Greitens and his team sat idly by when duty called and failed to defend the young victim of human trafficking that his largest donor allegedly spent the last 13 years sexually assaulting. Through their silence and inaction, they condone this evil. Adding to an ever-growing list, this is further proof that Eric Greitens is completely unfit to be the chief executive of Missouri.

A California financier has contributed $1,000,000 to the Greitens campaign for governor. According to court filings and media reports, the donor, who was married and has two kids, purportedly spent 13 years sexually assaulting a young woman, under the false pretense that he would help her escape the human traffickers that held her hostage since she was a 15-year-old child.[1] These official reports go on to describe how he would force her to call him “king” and “emperor” and subject her to “countless hours of forced sodomy.”[2] His alleged physical assaults on this young woman were so gruesome that she required surgery on one occasion. Allegations also include that through his sexual predation, he also infected her with human papillomavirus (H.P.V.).[3]

To make matters worse, it is not clear how old she was when she became a slave to  the donor’s perverse desires and abuse;  UPDATE: One of the donor’s lawyers, said the narrative laid out that the suit “conflates time a bit” and leads people to believe she was younger than she was when she and the donor first met. The lawyer said she was born in late 1980 and was 22 years old when they first met, which he said was in early 2002.[4][5] Regardless, it appears  this man discovered a scared, innocent victim of trafficking, and exploited her vulnerability for his own benefit, often violently.[6]Allegedly, the donor even offered to pay her $40,000,000 in “hush money” paying out $10,000,000 before he changed his mind.[7]

Consider: This is a high-profile Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose own firm, Sequoia Capital, found the allegations so disturbing that he was reportedly forced to immediately resign from the firm.[8]

Consider:  The same donor recently contributed $250,000 to the Super PAC that is aiding the Presidential campaign of Governor John Kasich. Upon hearing the news reports, Governor Kasich promptly and immediately donated the entire contribution to organizations committed to ending human trafficking.[9]

Consider: All other candidates running for governor in Missouri have publicly denounced this type of alleged behavior, and have issued calls for Mr. Greitens to return the contribution.

The right course of action seems obvious here, even if you were born with a set of “flexible” morals that can rationalize almost anything. Thus far, however, Mr. Greitens has stated he is holding onto the donor’s money because he is taking a “stand on principle.”[10] He has also had the audacity to accuse the media of siding with politicians to exaggerate the issue.[11] In a defensive tone, Mr. Greitens has repeatedly stated he will not only keep the money, but has refused to say whether he will accept even more money from the donor.[12] In fact, literally days after the allegations surfaced about the claimed abuse became public and he was dismissed from his own company, Eric Greitens personally traveled to California to attend a fundraiser. Even with knowledge of the issues described above, the candidate casually hobnobbed with the accused donor and his cohort of wealthy, California-based donors. In case there was any doubt of his allegiance, Greitens referred to the accused donor as a “patriot” in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio on January 26 and noted that he was “honored” to have his support.[13]

Patriots don’t get into positions where these types of allegations occur. Patriots know right from wrong.  Patriots defend Missouri values. Patriots have courage and take action on behalf of victims, even when it may cost their campaign some television ads this election cycle. Eric Greitens has betrayed the trust of Missouri voters, and particularly young women, with his refusal to take a strong stand against all types of perversion. 

In Mr. Greitens’ own book, The Warrior’s Heart, he writes of an inspirational message given by a Senior Officer during his military training: “Every time a woman leaves your side, she should feel better about herself.”[14] Greitens unfortunately doesn’t apply this dictum when it inconveniently rebukes his closest supporters. 

Ironically, Mr. Greitens and his team have made ethics reform a centerpiece of his campaign for governor. He has gone so far as to claim that one of his top priorities is to end donations from companies under investigation. Should we stand silent and allow this flagrant hypocrisy to go unnoticed? No – silence and inaction define the path that Greitens has selected, a path that diverges sharply with the one traveled by true patriots. 

If he is willing to accept massive donations from men who are even so much as accused of heinous acts, what other unseemly actions would he be willing to take in order to achieve his goals of high office? Greitens often calls his donors “investors”. Do we really want men who are surrounded by accusations to have influence over policies that govern Missouri families?

Greitens clearly places his own insatiable ambition over basic human decency. He has refused the obvious, moral response to this heartbreaking situation. Thus, he embodies the very type of slimy, selfish political candidate that citizens have learned are not to be trusted. The people of Missouri deserve better.

Missouri should not support its own House of Cards, Frank Underwood, whose selfish and ruthless behavior comes at the expense of the very citizens he is supposed to represent and serve.  Based on this terrifying comparison, it is clear that Greitens is the wrong choice for Missouri.

Eric Greitens is unfit to serve as Missouri’s governor. If he lacks the moral fiber and common sense to return money that is permeated with unimaginable allegations, he should withdraw from the race. Since he is likely to do neither, Missouri voters must act accordingly on August 2nd – this August, ANYONE BUT GREITENS.

[1] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/03/michael-goguen-sequoia-sex-abuse-case-silicon-valley

[2] Ibid. 

[3] Ibid.

[4] http://missoulian.com/news/local/whitefish-philanthropist-attorneys-respond-to-lawsuit-call-allegations-vile-collection/article_2413b2d2-2783-56a8-be0f-e3b724ff6fbe.html

[5] http://fortune.com/2016/03/15/ex-sequoia-capital-partner-fires-back-at-sex-slave-claims/

[6] http://nypost.com/2016/03/14/ex-sequoia-capital-partner-countersues-in-sex-abuse-case/

[7] http://qz.com/640124/a-prominent-tech-investor-is-accused-of-paying-an-alleged-sex-slave-with-charitable-funds/

[8] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3492120/Silicon-Valley-venture-capitalist-forced-quit-human-trafficking-victim-filed-lawsuit-claiming-kept-sex-slave-13-years-forcing-call-king-sodomized-hours-end-near-death.html

[9] http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2016/03/03.15.2016-kasich-sex-scandal-donor.html

[10] https://themissouritimes.com/27827/gop-candidates-challenge-greitens-goguen-ties-gop-debate/

[11] http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/politics/elections/opponents-urge-greitens-to-return-money-from-silicon-valley-investor/article_c0a345c1-05a5-5d55-adfb-c077f4fa9080.html

[12] https://themissouritimes.com/27827/gop-candidates-challenge-greitens-goguen-ties-gop-debate/

[13] St. Louis Public Radio at 37:15 –http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/politically-speaking-eric-greitens-his-latest-mission-become-missouris-next-governor

[14] The Warrior’s Heart, p. 177