Is this finally the end for Eric Greitens?

Missouri now has its own Samson-and-Delilah story.

In the Biblical version, Samson — who could no doubt teach Governor Eric Greitens a thing or two about proper pull-ups — is emasculated by a temptress who figures out the source of his superhuman strength lies in his long hair. She cuts it off, and Samson ends up on the wrong end of a prison mill grinder.

In the Missouri version, the governor who loves to impress with his physique and workout routine also gets involved with a woman who cuts hair. She appears to be more the victim than the temptress, but both stories end with the tough guys being taken away in custody, their dominions in tatters.

In the six weeks since a St. Louis TV station broke the news of Greitens’ 2015 affair with his hair stylist in the St. Louis area, the Republican governor has tried to brazen out the storm. He ignored calls from legislators in his own party to resign. He traveled the state talking up a tax-cut plan. Missourians were treated to television ads featuring the smiling face of their philandering governor, selling his tax plan, paid for by his dark-money political group.

But on Thursday St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner announced that a grand jury has indicted Greitens for felony invasion of privacy. The charge presumably stems from allegations that Greitens allegedly photographed his lover while she was blindfolded and at least partially nude, and threatened to put the photo on the internet if she revealed their relationship.

The woman, who has asked not to be identified, told her ex-husband that Greitens duct-taped her hands to workout rings in his basement before taking the photographs. In a taped conversation that the ex-husband released without the woman’s consent, she said Greitens had asked her to meet him at his home, and then invited her into the basement, where he worked out. “I’ll show you how to do a proper pull-up,” he reportedly said.

The indictment states that Greitens “knowingly photographed” the woman “in a state of full or partial nudity” without her knowledge or consent, and that he “transmitted the image contained in the photograph in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”

Greitens’ lawyer, from a powerhouse St. Louis firm, hotly denied the charges and said his client would be proven innocent. A few hours after he was released on his own recognizance, Greitens put out a statement on his Facebook page. It showed his trademark combativeness still intact. 

“As I have said before, I made a personal mistake before I was Governor. I did not commit a crime,” he said. “The people of Missouri deserve better than a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points.”

As a kicker, Greitens announced, “This will not for a moment deter me from doing the important work of the great people of Missouri.”

But within hours of the indictment, leaders of the Missouri House were not-so-subtly hinting at impeachment proceedings.

“We will carefully examine the facts contained in the indictment and answer the question as to whether or not the governor can lead our state while a felony case moves forward,” House Speaker Todd Richardson and other leaders said in a statement.

These guys are Republicans. But as we’ve previously noted, Greitens treated GOP lawmakers with the same contempt that he unloaded on members of the media, the education commissioner, and pretty much everyone outsider of his close circle of advisers in his first year of office. The chances of him completing a second year look pretty dim at this point. But short of a resignation, it’s up to the GOP-dominated Missouri legislature to end this joker’s career. Whether they’re up to that task is the top question at hand. 

It’s likely no one is more shocked at this turn of events than Greitens himself. Up until now, his self-esteem has been larger than life. He reportedly told elementary school classmates he was going to be president of the United States. When he became governor of Missouri, he made it clear that office was just a stopover to the White House. The former Navy Seal and Ivy League grad boasted of the perfect resume, perfect family and perfect character — until the hairdresser’s jilted husband spoke up.

Then again, Sampson undoubtedly was pretty stunned at his downfall, too. Powerful men who think they’re invincible sometimes learn the hard way that there’s no such thing as a free haircut.