Washington, D.C. – The attorney for conservative Missouri Republican hopeful Eric Greitens told reporters at a Tuesday press conference in front of the Prettyman Federal Courthouse here that if Republican Mandarin Karl Rove facilitated the candidate’s ex-wife Sheena Greitens committing perjury, he also committed a crime.
“Karl Rove has admitted that he spoke with Sheena Greitens about this,” said Timothy Parlatore, the Navy SEAL veteran’s lawyer. “Karl Rove has called donors, before this was filed, to tell them: ‘Back away from Eric Greitens.’”
Parlatore: Two conflicting affidavits mean one of them is false
At issue is the ex-wife made two affidavits, said Parlatore, the Navy SEAL veteran’s lawyer.
In the first one, sworn May 15, 2020, the ex-wife attested that she had told the court everything – all material facts related to the welfare of her children and the dissolution of her marriage, he said.
In addition, the ex-wife also swore under oath that she agreed with a joint-physical and joint-legal co-parenting framework that allowed the children would spend the majority of their free time with their father, he said.
Then, with the coaxing of Rove, the ex-wife crafted a new affidavit, notarized March 14, claiming that her ex-husband had been abusive to her, he said.
“One of these is false,” Parlatore said. “Sheena Greitens has made false statements, under oath, to the court.”
If the second affidavit is accurate, it also means that she deliberately endangered her children when she made her first affidavit, he said.
“Karl Rove, and others, have now asked Sheena to claim that she purposefully and willfully put her sons in jeopardy by never sharing any of this information with the mediator, the judge, any law enforcement officer, medical professional, teacher, or school official of any kind,” he said.
“Such a failure would call into question the fitness of a parent,” the lawyer said.
Parlatore, who successfully represented retired Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher in his 2019 court-martial on murder charges, said he was also taken aback by the fact that the new affidavit is not material to any ongoing family court issue; instead, it was filed as an exhibit attached to a motion filed in Washington to move the jurisdiction of custody to Austin.
The only reason the ex-wife would want to create such an exhibit and file it in Washington would be to create negative publicity for her ex-husband, he said.
“After communicating with Karl Rove at the most sensitive time, during a primary campaign, all of a sudden she filed something that’s completely counter to her own past sworn-out statements,” the lawyer said.
“If you can file false affidavits to bring a fake family court case to try and hurt somebody just to get them to withdraw from a campaign, is that really the precedent we want to set?” he asked.
Parlatore: Sheena Greitens is a victim in Rove’s game
The attorney said that he and Greitens believe that the ex-wife is being manipulated, and her emotional exposure affiliated with the breakup of her marriage and family is being exploited.
“The kids are the victims here. The family is the victim here. Sheena Greitens is a victim here, but Eric Greitens is not going to contribute to that victimhood by trying to respond in kind,” he said.
“We believe that Karl Rove and other political operatives have taken advantage of an extraordinarily vulnerable situation, challenges that Sheena Greitens has faced, and have caused her to file a regrettable and contradictory statement to the court,” he said.
“Eric Greitens sees Sheena Greitens as a victim of political operatives and is not seeking charges,” Parlatore said. “The court will determine appropriate sanctions.”
Parlatore: We want the phone records from ex-wife, Rove and others related to his false exhibit
In addition to calling out Rove for his machinations with Greitens’ ex-wife, Parlatore said his legal team also filed subpoenas at a courthouse in Boone County, Missouri, for phone records.
“We filed subpoenas for those engaged in creating and distributing the false D.C. exhibit, including the cellphone and communication records of: Sheena Greitens, political operative Austin Chambers, and Mitch McConnell board staffer Catherine Linkul,” he said.
When reporters pressed Parlatore on how he knew that Chambers was involved, Parlatore said he had information to that effect and that he was confident that the subpoena of his phone records would bear that out.
Linkul was a senior staffer on Greitens’ 2016 gubernatorial campaign, and he continued in senior roles in his transition team and administration.
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Neil W. McCabe is the national political editor of The Star News Network based in Washington. He is an Army Reserve public affairs NCO and an Iraq War veteran. Send him news tips: [email protected]. Follow him on TruthSocial & GETTR: @ReporterMcCabe
Photo “Karl Rove” by Karl Rove. Photo “Eric Greitens” by Eric Greitens. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Karen Neoh. CC BY 2.0.
