Sunday Poll: Was the Greitens Affair Consensual?

Last week a special House committee released a report on its investigation into the affair Eric Greitens had before he became Missouri’s governor:

He blindfolded and bound a woman to exercise equipment, spanked her, and tried to kiss her without her consent.

Those are among the scandalous allegations against Gov. Eric Greitens of Missouri that were released in a legislative report on Wednesday that has put the first-term Republican governor’s political future in deep trouble.

The report, the result of a House committee’s weekslong investigation into an extramarital affair that the governor admitted he had before he took office, has led to intense, bipartisan calls for him to step down. Mr. Greitens, however, insisted that he would not resign. (New York Times)

Here’s a quote relating to one aspect — consent:

While Greitens has described the extramarital relations as “consensual,” the woman, referred to only as Witness 1 in the report, said it included unwanted and potentially coerced sexual acts that she felt afraid to say no to and physical violence, in addition to the threat of photographic blackmail. (Washington Post)

Today’s poll is about this issue of consent. We’ve got two diametrically opposite stories on the subject — she claims it wasn’t consensual, Greitens says it was. .

This non-scientific poll will close at 8pm tonight. My thoughts on the subject on Wednesday.

— Steve Patterson