Judge deciding if special prosecutor can exit Tisaby case
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis judge said Thursday that he’ll decide by the end of next week whether to allow the special prosecutor to withdraw from the perjury and evidence tampering case against William Don Tisaby, a former FBI agent hired by St. Louis’ top prosecutor to investigate former Gov. Eric Greitens.
Judge Bryan Hettenbach also will decide no later than July 2 on a motion from attorneys for Tisaby that seeks a sanction of Special Prosecutor Gerard Carmody. Tisaby's attorneys accused Carmody of failing to turn over evidence, which Carmody denied.
Tisaby, 68, is accused of lying in a March 2018 deposition just before Greitens' criminal trial. Greitens, a Republican, was governor at the time.
Carmody filed a motion in May to exit the case. He told Hettenbach during a hearing Thursday that because of other issues with his law firm, “I can no longer serve as special prosecutor in this case.”
Tisaby's attorney, Daniel Dailey, urged the judge to toss out the case. If a new special prosecutor is appointed, it will take that person time to get up to speed, further delaying Tisaby's trial, he said.
“How much longer will he have to wait for his day in court?” Dailey asked.
Greitens was indicted on felony invasion of privacy in February 2018 for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman during a 2015 extramarital affair, before he was governor, and threatening to use it as blackmail if she ever spoke of their relationship. The charge was dropped in the midst of jury selection, but Greitens resigned in June 2018.
Greitens admitted to the affair but denied criminal wrongdoing. Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner hired Tisaby to investigate Greitens. Her handling of the case and Tisaby's investigation drew condemnation from the former governor's...