St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • A1

Vol. 140, No. 360 1 POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD WEATHER B7 CLOUDY AND MILD TODAY BREEZY WITH RAIN TOMORROW Wrap it (back) up SERVING THE PUBLIC SINCE 1878 WINNER OF 18 PULITZER PRIZES Wednesday 12.26.2018 $2.00 By TIM Special to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch On the night of Jan. 10, Gov.

Eric Greitens stood before legislators in the Missouri House chamber and promised to unveil the state tax reform in But something else was troubling him. Barely an hour later, KMOV (Channel 4) broadcast a report alleging the governor had taken a partly nude photo of a woman in 2015 and threatened to release it if she revealed their affair. Greitens and his wife, Sheena, issued a statement confirming the affair. His lawyer denied the blackmail allegation. Less than five months later, Greitens resigned, calling himself the victim of Greitens, a native of Maryland Heights and a former Navy SEAL, burst into politics with a carefully choreographed campaign for governor in 2016 that featured lots of military-style gunfire and a grand promise to crush corruption.

But his hypocrisy over campaign finance he doggedly refused to identify many of his own donors after pledging to do otherwise caused tension with the GOP legislative majority. An investigation by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, led to an indictment. A grand jury accused him of felony invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a nonconsensual cellphone photo of his partly clad lover. Greitens assembled a dream team of defense lawyers, including former federal prosecutors and a former St.

Louis judge. Back at the Capitol, a legislative committee took riveting testimony. ERIC EXIT TOPS AREA NEWS STORIES IN 2018 By PHILIP RUCKeR and Lenny BeRnsTeIn Washington Post WasHInGTOn President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he intended to keep the federal government closed until he se- cured the desired funding from Congress for his promised border wall, and he cast doubt about the performance of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after a sharp downturn in U.S. stock markets. In an Oval Office appearance on Christmas morning, Trump praised Treasury Secretary Ste- ven Mnuchin despite the stock suffering their steepest Christmas Eve decline in decades but was more circumspect about his handpicked Fed chair.

Trump said when a journalist asked whether By nOMaan MeRCHanT Associated Press HOUsTOn An 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died in govern- ment custody in New Mexico early Tuesday, U.S. immigration authorities said, marking the second death of an immigrant child in detention this month. U.S. Customs and Border Pro- tection said in a news release that the boy died shortly after mid- night. The death came during an ongoing dispute over border security and with a partial gov- ernment shutdown underway over President Donald request for border wall funding.

The White House referred ques- tions to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, par- ent agency. CBP officers and the Border Patrol remain on the job despite the shutdown. see yeaR Page a6 2 0 1 8 ROBERT COHEN Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens leaves the Civil Courts building downtown after speaking with reporters on May 14.

Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner dropped a felony invasion of privacy charge after Circuit Judge Rex Burlison ruled that she could be called as a witness at trial. ROBERT COHEN Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens leaves the podium after announcing his resignation in the office on May 29 in Jefferson City. DAVID CARSON Mike Parson is sworn into office as the 57th governor of Missouri on June 1 at the Capitol building in Jefferson City. Day of service Jews, Muslims help others, share values neWs a4 Trending line Fourth line duo is among few bright spots sPORTs INSIDE: Good things that happened in 2018; the year in trends that are fading already.

A19 Another year of one-man show. Editorial A16 Photos above: U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and Carolyn Kindle Betz of Enterprise Holdings Second Guatemalan child dies in U.S.

custody Boy, 8, diagnosed with cold, fever lived only hours see BORdeR Page a12 Trump vows to hold out for wall funding He questions Fed decisions as market droops see sHUTdOWn Page a12 WILL DONATE THE FIRST $50,000 PLUS A NEW CAR, TRUCK, OR SUV PICK YOUR CHARITY, PICK YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV OF ST. LOUIS SPIRIT Bommarito AUTOMOTIVE GROUP Bommarito.COM DETAILS AT: PURCHASE A NEW OR PRE-OWNED VEHICLE AT ANY BOMMARITO LOCATION TO BE ENTERED TO WIN OR DONATE $10 FOR A CHANCE TO WIN HEAT UP ST LOUIS.ORG.