Political sex scandals

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Sex scandals seem to crop up regularly in politics with elected officials making headlines for trysts or sexual misconduct. Here is a glimpse at some of the sex-related scandals involving political figures and agencies.



Sex scandals seem to crop up regularly in politics with elected officials making headlines for trysts or sexual misconduct. Here is a glimpse at some of the sex-related scandals involving political figures and agencies.


Sex scandals seem to crop up regularly in politics with elected officials making headlines for trysts or sexual misconduct. Here is a glimpse at some of the sex-related scandals involving political figures and agencies.


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New York Representative Anthony Weiner resigned his seat on June 21, 2011, after coming under growing pressure from his Democratic colleagues to leave the House following revelations of his lewd online exchanges with women.

Anthony Weiner



This isn’t Weiner’s first sex scandal rodeo. The current New York City mayoral candidate has just admitted he sent explicit photos and texts to a woman online over the course of six months.


Weiner previously resigned from his seat as a New York Representative in June 2011 after coming under growing pressure from his Democratic colleagues to leave the House following revelations of lewd online exchanges with women.


Associated Press


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The woman with whom Petraeus was having the affair was Paula Broadwell, the author of a biography about Petraeus published in 2012, “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.” The woman with whom Petraeus was having the affair was Paula Broadwell, the author of a biography of Petraeus, “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus,” which was published in 2012.

David Petraeus



Former CIA director David Petraeus resigned from the position he held for a little over a year after being caught having an extramarital affair.


It came out that Petraeus was having an affair with Paula Broadwell, the author of the 2012 biography about him: “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.”


Associated Press


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In April 2012, several Secret Service agents and personnel were accused of bringing prostitutes to their hotel room during the sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Columbia. Nine agency employees either resigned or retired as a result of the scandal and the incident prompted the law enforcement agency to implement new rules for its staff.

Secret Service



In April 2012, several Secret Service agents and personnel were accused of bringing prostitutes to their hotel room during the sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Columbia. Nine agency employees either resigned or retired as a result of the scandal and the incident prompted the law enforcement agency to implement new rules for its staff.


Pedro Mendoza/Associated Press


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John Edwards, a former US senator from North Carolina and 2004 vice presidential nominee, fathered a child during an extramarital affair with campaign worker Rielle Hunter. She was filming a documentary about his campaign. The affair led to the end of his marriage to Elizabeth Edwards, who died of cancer in December 2010.

John Edwards



John Edwards, a former US senator from North Carolina and 2004 vice presidential nominee, fathered a child during an extramarital affair with campaign worker Rielle Hunter. She was filming a documentary about his campaign. The affair led to the end of his marriage to Elizabeth Edwards, who died of cancer in December 2010.


In 2011, Edwards was indicted by a grand jury on charges of using campaign donations to conceal his affair with Hunter. In May 2012, Edwards was found not guilty of one charge and a mistrial was declared for five other charges. Edwards and Hunter split a month later.


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In “Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and its Aftermath,” Mimi Alford wrote of her sexual encounters as a naïve teenager with President John F. Kennedy, whom she always called Mr. President. The book details her “varied and fun” sex life with the president. Alford said the affair started in 1962 when she was 19 and a White House intern, and continued until Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

John F. Kennedy



In “Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and its Aftermath,” Mimi Alford wrote of her sexual encounters as a naïve teenager with President John F. Kennedy, whom she always called Mr. President. The book details her “varied and fun” sex life with the president. Alford said the affair started in 1962 when she was 19 and a White House intern, and continued until Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.


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In an interview on ABC’s “Nightline” on Jan. 20, 2012, Marianne Gingrich, the second wife of newt Gingrich, said he sought to keep her as his wife, while keeping his current wife Callista Bisek as a mistress. Gingrich, who has been married three times, has admitted to having past indiscretions including his affair with Bisek while he was married to Marianne for several years.

Newt Gingrich



In an interview on ABC’s “Nightline” on Jan. 20, 2012, Marianne Gingrich, the second wife of Newt Gingrich, said the then-presidential candidate wanted an “open marriage” and sought to keep her as his wife, while keeping his current wife Callista Bisek as a mistress. Gingrich, who has been married three times, previously admitted to having past indiscretions including his affair with Bisek while he was married to Marianne for several years.


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Accusations emerged in the 2012 presidential race that Herman Cain, who sought the GOP nomination, made unwanted sexual overtures and behaved inappropriately with some women while he led the National Restaurant Association more than a decade ago.

Herman Cain



Accusations emerged in the 2012 presidential race that Herman Cain, who sought the GOP nomination, made unwanted sexual overtures and behaved inappropriately with some women while he led the National Restaurant Association more than a decade ago.


Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press


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Dominique Strauss-Kahn



On May 14, 2011, a New York City hotel maid accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of the International Monetary Fund, of sexually assaulting her in his hotel suite. The case against Strauss-Kahn eventually fell apart due to problems with his accuser's credibility and prosecutors dropped the charges. The result ended months of scandal that tarnished the career of a politician who once seemed destined for the French presidency.


In March 2012, Strauss-Kahn was charged in France with involvement with a multinational prostitution ring.


Craig Ruttle/Associated Press


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Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former governor of California, acknowledged fathering a child with a household staff member, Mildred Patricia Baena, more than a decade ago. Schwarzenegger said he only told his wife, Maria Shriver, about the child after leaving office. The admission appeared to have prompted Shriver to leave the couple’s home before they officially announced their separation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger



Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former governor of California, acknowledged fathering a child with a household staff member, Mildred Patricia Baena, more than a decade ago. Schwarzenegger said he only told his wife, Maria Shriver, about the child after leaving office. The admission appeared to have prompted Shriver to leave the couple’s home before they officially announced their separation.


Shriver filed divorce papers on July 1, 2011.


Carlo Allegri/Getty Images


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Italy’s Premier Silvio Berlusconi is accused of paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl and using his influence to cover it up.

Silvio Berlusconi



Italy’s Premier Silvio Berlusconi is accused of paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl and using his influence to cover it up.


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Former US senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart’s 1988 bid for the White House was derailed when, in 1987, he became caught up in a scandal amid reports he’d had an extramarital affair with a model named Donna Rice. The scandal cost Hart a shot at the Democratic presidential nomination.

Gary Hart



Former US senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart’s 1988 bid for the White House was derailed when, in 1987, he became caught up in a scandal amid reports he’d had an extramarital affair with a model named Donna Rice.


The scandal cost Hart a shot at the Democratic presidential nomination.


Aron Tomlinson/Associated Press


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Perhaps the biggest sex-related scandal in US political history was President Bill Clinton’s admitted “improper relationship” with intern Monica Lewinsky. The House impeached Clinton over allegations that he lied under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky.

Bill Clinton



Perhaps the biggest sex-related scandal in US political history was former president Bill Clinton’s admitted “improper relationship” with intern Monica Lewinsky. The House impeached Clinton over allegations that he lied under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky.


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The former New York governor resigned in disgrace in March 2008 after The New York Times reported he had been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel using the code name “Client 9.” The prostitute, later identified as Ashley Dupre was part of the ring called Emperors Club VIP.

Eliot Spitzer



The former New York governor resigned in disgrace in March 2008 after The New York Times reported he had been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel using the code name “Client 9.” The prostitute, later identified as Ashley Dupre was part of the ring called Emperors Club VIP.


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In 2006, US Representative Mark Foley of Florida resigned from office after revelations he sent lurid Internet messages to male teenagers working on Capitol Hill. He was never criminally charged.

Mark Foley



In 2006, US Representative Mark Foley of Florida resigned from office after revelations he sent lurid Internet messages to male teenagers working on Capitol Hill. He was never criminally charged.


Lawrence Jackson/Associated Press


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The former Detroit mayor was sentenced to one-and-a-half to five years in state prison for violating the terms of his probation on an obstruction of justice conviction. An affair between Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff was exposed in thousands of text messages between the two revealed in 2008 by the Detroit Free Press.

Kwame Kilpatrick



The former Detroit mayor was sentenced to one-and-a-half to five years in state prison for violating the terms of his probation on an obstruction of justice conviction. An affair between Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff was exposed in thousands of text messages between the two revealed in 2008 by the Detroit Free Press.


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Former senator Larry Craig, an Idaho Republican, was arrested and charged with lewd conduct in a men’s restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June 2007. A police officer in an undercover operation investigating complaints of sexual activity in the restroom testified Craig entered a stall adjacent to him and tapped his foot, thought to be a signal of someone wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig sought unsuccessfully to have his guilty plea withdrawn and refused to resign from the Senate, after initially saying he would do so, though he did not seek reelection.

Larry Craig



Craig sought unsuccessfully to have his guilty plea withdrawn and refused to resign from the US Senate, after initially saying he would do so, though he did not seek reelection.


Craig sought unsuccessfully to have his guilty plea withdrawn and refused to resign from the Senate, after initially saying he would do so, though he did not seek reelection.


Kevin Lamarque/Reuters


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James E. McGreevey, standing with wife Gina, resigned as the governor of New Jersey in 2004, after he admitted he was homosexual and had an extramarital affair with another man.

James McGreevey



James E. McGreevey, standing with wife Gina, resigned as the governor of New Jersey in 2004, after he admitted he was homosexual and had an extramarital affair with another man.


Brian Branch-Pric/Associated Press


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Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. The scandal, which broke in June 2009, came to light after Sanford had told aides he was “hiking on the Appalachian Trail,’’ when he was in fact traveling to Argentina.

Mark Sanford



Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. The scandal, which broke in June 2009, came to light after Sanford had told aides he was “hiking on the Appalachian Trail,’’ when he was in fact traveling to Argentina.


Davis Turner/Getty Images


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