A history of political sex scandals
Will Rep. Anthony Weiner's career survive? A guide to some of the more notable public embarrassments over the last four decades and how individual politicians weathered the storm:
|
Date and name |
What Happened |
Status |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1
2011 John Ensign |
 |
Nearly two years after acknowledging an affair with a former campaign staffer, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) resigned amid a Senate ethics probe. |
3 |
| 2
2011 Chris Lee |
 |
Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) resigned within hours after it was revealed that he sent a topless photo of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist. |
3 |
| 3
2010 Eric Massa |
 |
Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) resigned amid allegations he sexually harassed male staffers. |
3 |
| 4
May 18, 2010 Mark Souder |
 |
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) resigned after an affair with a staffer came to light. |
3 |
| 5
June 24, 2009 Mark Sanford |
 |
After disappearing from his state for nearly a week, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford held a rambling press conference in which he admitted to having an affair with a woman in Argentina. He served out his full term, and couldn't run again because of term limits. |
3 |
| 6
2008 Eliot Spitzer |
 |
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after authorities said he spent tens of thousands of dollars to arrange visits with prostitutes. |
3 |
| 7
2007 Larry Craig |
 |
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested for lewd conduct in the men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He finished his term but did not run again. |
3 |
| 8
2007 David Vitter |
 |
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) acknowledged that his Washington phone number was among those called by an escort service. He was reelected to a second Senate term in 2010. |
1 |
| 9
2006 Mark Foley |
 |
Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) resigned after reports surfaced that he sent lurid messages to teenage male congressional pages. |
3 |
| 10
August 2004 James E. McGreevey |
 |
New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey (D) resigned, announcing that he had an extramarital affair with a man. |
3 |
| 11
July 2004 Jack Ryan |
 |
Republican Jack Ryan dropped out of the Illinois Senate race after his wife, Jeri Lynn Ryan of Star Trek fame, filed divorce papers alleging he had taken her to "bizarre clubs" and asked her to have sex in front of other people. Ryan's Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, easily won the Illinois seat. |
3 |
| 12
2001 Gary Condit |
 |
Rep. Gary Condit's affair with intern Chandra Levy was exposed after the 23-year-old disappeared. The California Democrat, in office since 1989, left Congress in 2003 after losing a primary election to a former aide. |
3 |
| 13
1998 Bill Clinton |
 |
During the 1992 presidential primaries, former TV reporter Gennifer Flowers claimed she had a 12-year affair with candidate Bill Clinton. As president, he was accused of sexually harassing state worker Paula Jones. The Jones investigation ultimately revealed the president's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. |
1 |
| 14
1995 Bob Packwood |
 |
Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) resigned from the Senate following a three-year inquiry into allegations that he sexually harassed female members of his staff. |
3 |
| 15
1990 Barney Frank |
 |
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was reelected with 66 percent of the vote after allegations that he allowed a male prostitute to do business out of his home. |
1 |
| 16
1988 Gary Hart |
 |
Gary Hart, once the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his bid following reports of his affairs with Donna Rice and other women. |
3 |
| 17
1983 Gerry E. Studds and Daniel B. Crane |
 |
House formally censured Reps. Gerry E. Studds (D-Mass.), left, and Daniel B. Crane (R-Ill.), who admitted sexual relations with House pages. |
2 |
| 18
1976 Wayne L. Hays |
 |
Rep. Wayne L. Hays (D-Ohio) resigned from Congress amid revelations about a sexual relationship with a clerk in his office. Hays went on to win a seat in the Ohio Legislature. |
2 |
| 19
1974 Wilbur Mills |
 |
Rep. Wilbur Mills (D-Ark.) gave up chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee after being stopped in his car with Anabell Battistella, known as "Fanne Foxe, the Argentine Firecracker." Foxe jumped into the Tidal Basin while Mills was being questioned. Mills did not seek re-election. At right, Mills with Battistella. |
