Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker will take over the invasion-of-privacy case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens at the request of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner.
As special prosecutor, Baker will review the evidence to decide whether to re-file charges against Greitens based on allegations that he snapped a photograph of a woman, bound and partly nude, without her consent in 2015.
“No elected official relishes involvement in such difficult matters as an investigation of criminal wrongdoing by another official, but we also understand our duty,” Baker said in a statement.
“I directed my staff that we will go about our review of this case as we review any case. It will be thorough, and our decisions, as I have stated before, will be made without fear or favor.”
Baker was appointed by St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison. In his order, he noted that Baker's office would serve as special prosecutor "with regard to the investigation and possible prosecution of Eric Greitens in alleged criminal activity in regard to an incident on March 21, 2015, and other incidents involving the same victim from that date through September 1, 2015."
It wasn't clear whether additional charges beyond invasion of privacy are possible.
Baker "has decades of experience as a prosecutor," Gardner said in a statement. "She is respected by both the public and the legal community. (She) will conduct an independent review of the facts, evidence and law and make an independent decision about whether to refile charges of felony Invasion of Privacy. If she chooses to pursue charges, the case will remain in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court."
Gardner said she continues to believe in the credibility of Greitens' alleged victim.
"I also believe there is ample probable cause to re-issue this charge against Governor Greitens," she said. "I will be sharing the evidence we have collected on the Invasion of Privacy case with Ms. Baker immediately."
Baker has served as Jackson County prosecutor since 2011. She launched her career as an assistant prosecutor under U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., the only other woman to serve in the role.
McCaskill's office declined to comment.
Baker has worked on a range of cases, including many that involved allegations of sex abuse and domestic violence.
She briefly served as a Democrat in the Missouri House after being elected in 2010, but gave up her House seat after five months when she was appointed prosecutor to fill the unexpired term of Jim Kanatzar, who left to become a circuit judge.
She was then elected prosecutor in 2012.
Within months of her appointment, Baker prosecuted Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for failing to report potential child abuse by the Rev. Shawn Ratigan. Finn was the first Catholic bishop who faced criminal charges in the US for protecting an abusive priest.
In 2013, Baker took on the prosecution of a highly publicized teenage sexual assault case that ripped apart the community of Maryville, Mo., after a report by The Star raised questions about how Nodaway County investigators and prosecutors handled the original case.
Baker ultimately decided against felony charges in the case involving two teenage girls, a popular football player and his friends, but accepted a misdemeanor guilty plea of child endangerment.
House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, said she has confidence in Baker’s ability to discover the truth about the allegations that have plagued Greitens and dominated the state’s politics since January.
“I think she’s taken on some tough cases that other folks wouldn’t touch,” McCann Beatty said. “We’ve got to give her time to look at the documents and see where it takes her.”
Ed Dowd, attorney for Greitens, said the defense team had sought to have Gardner and her office removed from investigating or prosecuting the invasion-of-privacy case.
An order signed Monday by Burlison denied that request, but noted that once a special prosecutor is selected, the circuit attorney and her office "are prohibited from any further involvement in this matter except to serve as witnesses in the case."
Baker said her office would work as quickly as possible in its review of the case.
“But let me stress that this review will be based solely on the evidence. Politics, affiliations or other matters beyond the evidence will not play a role,” she said.
“My office has prosecuted many similar cases and has experienced prosecutors, victim advocates and others who can assist. I will be involved in directing the review.”
Baker first joined the prosecutor’s office in 1997 as a child support intern while she was a law student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Throughout her tenure as prosecutor, Baker has focused attention on aiding victims and on pre-emptive efforts to combat Kansas City’s startling violent crime rates. She helped launch the Kansas City No Violence Alliance — KC NoVA — which brought local, state and federal agencies together to work with communities in easing social dynamics that lead to crime.
In the past year Baker has been caught up in a struggle with Jackson County Executive Frank White over his management of the beleaguered Jackson County jail. They also have battled over Baker’s control of the countywide anti-drug and anti-violence program known as COMBAT.
Earlier this year, Baker launched the Caring for Crime Survivors program, which aims to follow up with the families of shooting victims to help them get services, cope with trauma and deal with other lingering effects of violent crime.
The Kansas City legal community applauded her selection as the special prosecutor.
“She’s the gold standard. Absolutely. She is qualified. She is ethical and she’s a tremendous prosecutor as well. They could not have made a better choice,” said Pat McInerney, a Kansas City attorney who has worked for both the U.S. attorney’s office and the Jackson County prosecutor’s office.
Jean Paul Bradshaw, a former U.S. attorney for western Missouri, also praised her selection, noting Baker’s experience in prosecuting everything from low-level offenders to complex cases.
“I’m a little surprised they came all the way over here, but I think that’s the right choice,” he said.
Bradshaw, a Republican, said he trusted Baker to approach the case with impartiality.
“She’s a Democrat and it’s a Republican governor … and you’re going to have a lot of people who are going to want to play the partisan card,” he said. “I will just say I’ve had experience with Jean. I think she’s a very tough, fair-minded prosecutor and I’m not concerned about her political background.”
Both attorneys said Baker will be able to avoid the missteps made by Gardner, who has served as St. Louis prosecutor for a little more than a year.
“I don’t know Kim Gardner very well, but I’ve kind of watched the case and that’s a tough situation to throw somebody who doesn’t have a lot of experience,” Bradshaw said.
Gardner dropped her prosecution of Greitens on May 14 in the face of the defense team’s plan to call her as a witness. Her dramatic announcement came during jury selection as Greitens prepared to face trial for felony invasion of privacy.
The judge had agreed to let Greitens’ team depose Gardner based on the possibility that she may had been a witness to alleged perjury by an investigator in the case.
McInerney said that experienced prosecutors “see those kinds of pitfalls coming” and prepare for them.
Greitens admits an extramarital affair with the woman at the center of the case but denies allegations of criminal wrongdoing. He was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury in February.
The embattled governor declared victory after Gardner dropped the charges. But he still faces possible impeachment by the Missouri legislature and a felony charge of computer tampering, filed by Gardner in April.
Gardner based that charge on evidence referred to her by Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, who said an investigation by his office showed the governor had taken a donor list without permission from a veterans charity he'd founded, The Mission Continues, and used it to raise money for his 2016 campaign.
No decision has been made on whether there will be a special prosecutor in the computer tampering case.
Dowd said arguments are expected next week on whether the Gardner's office should be recused from that case as well.
Greitens’ legal team declined to comment on Baker’s selection as special prosecutor.
The Star's Steve Vockrodt and Glenn E. Rice contributed to this article.