Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) denied on Saturday blackmailing his former hairdresser with whom he had an affair, after the FBI launched an inquiry into the allegations.
“There was no blackmail, there was no violence, there was no threat of violence, there was no threat of blackmail, there was no threat of using a photograph for blackmail. All of those things are false," Greitens told The Associated Press.
“The mistake that I made was that I was engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman who was not my wife. That is a mistake for which I am very sorry," he continued.
The St. Louis city prosecutor announced last week that she would launch a probe into the allegations against Greitens.
CNN reported on Friday that the FBI had launched an inquiry into the allegations and that a volunteer on Greitens's transition team told the network that he had taken part in an interview with FBI agents last November.
Greitens's lawyer James Bennett told CNN that the governor "has not been contacted at any time by the FBI, and we are not aware of any interest by the FBI in this personal matter that took place years ago."
The FBI did not confirm or deny the inquiry.
Greitens took office in 2016.