KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sheena Greitens, the ex-wife of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, said Tuesday she stood by allegations that he physically and mentally abused her and their children.
In a statement, she said she didn't discuss the contents of her affidavit with anyone other than her attorney before it was filed.
The statement came after the former governor, who is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, attacked the first lady on Monday following the filing of a sworn affidavit in Boone County Circuit Court as part of an ongoing child custody dispute.
The affidavit alleges that Eric Greitens knocked down Sheena Greitens, confiscated her cell phone and threatened her into continued silence. She also alleges Eric Greitens struck their 3-year-old child and pulled him by his hair.
Eric Greitens responded by saying his ex-wife, an accomplished East Asia professor at the University of Texas-Austin, is working with political operatives. Greitens has centered his campaign on an anti-establishment message, warning that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others are working to stop him.
"I stand by my sworn statements," Sheena Greitens said in a statement. "I did not discuss the contents of my affidavit with anyone other than my counsel and, after the affidavit was filed, my immediate family."
"My only interest is what's best for my two children, and for the last four years, I have gone to great lengths to keep these family matters private to protect them. I am not interested in litigating this matter anywhere other than a courtroom," she said. "At the appropriate time in the legal process, I will provide whatever evidence and documentation the court requests, including testimony under oath."
The Greitens custody battle in Missouri is ongoing. Sheena Greitens' allegations came as part of her effort to move the custody battle from Missouri to Texas. That decision will ultimately be up to a judge in Missouri and it is not clear whether a ruling against Greitens to move the case to Texas would affect Greitens' candidacy.
Eric Greitens' campaign said Monday that Sheena Greitens was in Washington, D.C., last week, "prepared to launch what is clearly a politically-motivated attack against him" and called the allegations "gross" and "completely false."
Greitens has shown little indication he is considering dropping out, despite calls to exit the race coming from Republican and Democratic Senate candidates.
