Newspaper Reveals Missouri GOP Speaker’s Apparent Sexts With Intern

Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, answers questions from reporters about funding for a new Fulton State Hospital alongside Rep. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, right, Tuesday, April 22, 2014, during a news conference in ... Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, answers questions from reporters about funding for a new Fulton State Hospital alongside Rep. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, right, Tuesday, April 22, 2014, during a news conference in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Fulton Sun, Brittany Ruess) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The speaker of the Missouri state House allegedly had a sexually charged relationship with a female, college-aged intern this spring, according to screenshots of their text message conversations obtained by The Kansas City Star.

The newspaper published the screenshots on Wednesday, saying it confirmed with multiple anonymous sources that they came from the unidentified intern’s phone and contained state House Speaker John Diehl’s (R) business phone number.

Three different contact names are displayed in the screenshots: “John,” “Frank Underwood” and “SOTMHOR,” which may be an acronym for “Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives.” The text conversations themselves were light, flirty and peppered with kissy-face emojis throughout. Diehl and the intern allegedly discussed their evening plans, made fun of colleagues in the state House and complimented each other’s appearance.

But some of the messages shown were undeniably “sexts,” even if the screenshots obtained by The Star don’t necessarily prove that anything untoward occurred between Diehl and the intern. Here’s one of the alleged exchanges:

Diehl: God I want you right now.

Intern: I wish you could have me right now.

Diehl: Damn. We need lot of time and s quiet room.

Intern: That sounds amazing.

Diehl: Will have my way with you.

Intern: Soon enough.

Diehl: And leave you quivering.

The text conversations also contained pictures of both Diehl and the intern, according to the report. The published screenshots only show pictures Diehl sent from his travels to Munich and Milan, however.

Diehl, who has a wife and three children, declined to comment on the record to the newspaper. The intern, whom the newspaper didn’t name, told The Star that the text conversations weren’t real. She has also hired a lawyer specializing in employment matters, according to the report.

The Star said it obtained the screenshots after Missouri Southern State University abruptly ended its long-running state Capitol internship program a month early.

Read the whole thing here.

This post has been updated.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: