Missouri court sides with Greitens on message-deleting app

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday ruled former Gov. Eric Greitens didn't violate open records laws by using a message-deleting app to chat with his staff.

The Western District Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling in Greitens's favor, the Kansas City Star reported.

A St. Louis attorney sued Greitens in 2017 over use of the Confide app by the governor's office. The app deletes messages after the recipient reads them.

Greitens resigned 2018 in the face of possible impeachment and allegations of sexual and political misconduct. He's now running for U.S. Senate.

St. Louis attorney Ben Sansone argued use of the app violated Missouri open-records laws, which are designed to ensure taxpayers have access to government documents.

But a lower-court judge sided with Greitens, and appeals court judges agreed.

Still, appeals court judges said the ruling should not be interpreted as them condoning use of the app by public officials, writing the app "has the practical effect of side-stepping the reach of Missouri's Sunshine Law."

Mark Pedroli, Sansone's attorney, told The Kansas City Star they'll try to take the case to the Missouri Supreme Court if necessary.