JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Former Missouri governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Eric Greitens will be able to access his ex-wife's phone records as part of a custody dispute, a judge has ruled.
But the mid-Missouri family court judge denied the Republican's subpoena requests for phone records of her sister and his former 2016 campaign manager, Austin Chambers.
Greitens' lawyers asked for the phone records after Sheena Greitens last month accused him of physical abuse via an affidavit filed as part of the former couple’s child custody case.
Eric Greitens has said her claims of abuse are false and accused her of working in conspiracy with a web of Republican figures to take down his Senate candidacy, among them Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., longtime Republican operative Karl Rove and Chambers.
Sheena Greitens has said in court filings that she drafted the affidavit alone.
Sheena and Eric Greitens have been trading accusations in a child custody case. In a March affidavit, Sheena Greitens said her ex-husband was physically abusive and demonstrated "unstable and coercive behavior" so concerning that steps were taken to limit his access to firearms.
In a previous filing, Sheena Greitens said her husband's reaction to the March 21 affidavit is consistent with his past behavior.
"When his political future is at risk, he becomes erratic, unhinged, coercive, and threatening," she said.
Tim Parlatore, Greitens' attorney, said Tuesday that Sheena Greitens' allegations "are complete and total lies." He said the Greitens team has offered her a chance to apologize and resolve their differences in mediation, "but it seems like she intends to double down instead, which is unfortunate because the only victims of that are the children."
