The Kansas City Star is reporting that electronic messages suggest Missouri House Speaker John Diehl had a sexually charged relationship with a Capitol intern.
The newspaper released screenshots Wednesday that it said showed flirtatious discussions between Diehl and the college freshman that were sometimes sexually suggestive. The Star said the screenshots show Diehl's business cellphone number.
The Associated Press couldn't verify the authenticity of the messages. The intern had denied to the newspaper that the messages were authentic.
Diehl declined to comment to The Associated Press but said he would make a statement later. He deferred to an attorney for the intern, who also had no immediate comment.
A Missouri Southern State University official told The Star the school removed its interns from the Capitol after an unspecified incident.
