REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Cheating scandals are a common occurrence in politics, but they still get people to stop and take notice. When an elected official is involved in an affair, it can be tough to look away — especially when all of the dirty details are on full display in the media.
From community leaders to the highest office in the land, political cheating scandals don’t discriminate. Men, women, Democrats, and Republicans have all found themselves addressing issues of infidelity in front of a captive audience. Here’s a look at some of the most high-profile cheaters in modern politics.
Anthony Weiner had two very public cheating scandals.
AP
New York congressman Anthony Weiner’s high profile sexting scandals cost him his job and his marriage. First, in 2011, Weiner admitted to sending sexually explicit pictures of himself to as many as six different women online over a period of three years. During that time, Weiner had become engaged to Hillary Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin in 2009, and the pair married in 2010.
After the scandal, he resigned from Congress but tried to make a comeback in the 2013 New York City mayoral race. That campaign was cut short when it was revealed that Weiner was sexting with another woman under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger.”
Then in 2016, Weiner plead guilty to sending explicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl. Weiner’s actions not only led to the end of his marriage to Abedin (she filed for divorce in 2016 though later decided to settle out of court privately), but he is currently serving a 21-month prison sentence for sending obscene material to a minor.
Mark Sanford cheated with a journalist.
AP
In 2009, former governor, Mark Sanford gave a press conference in front of the South Carolina statehouse to admit that he had been unfaithful to his wife Jenny with a journalist from Argentina for over a year.
The affair was disclosed after the governor’s whereabouts were unknown for nearly a week. Sanford’s staffers explained his absence by telling reporters that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, though it was eventually revealed that Sanford had actually been spending time with his mistress in Buenos Aires.
Despite having to resign the governorship, Sanford was able to make a political comeback winning a seat in the House of Representatives. He would eventually be defeated by Katie Arrington in the 2018 Republican primary.
Rudy Giuliani cheated on his third wife.
Peter Morgan/Reuters
Rudy Giuliani is one of the most recognizable figures in modern American politics. But his personal life often receives just as much media attention as his political career. The former New York City mayor and current member of President Trump’s legal team has been married three times — all three have ended in divorce.
Giuliani was unfaithful to his third wife Judith. She filed for divorce when it was revealed that Giuliani was having an affair with a 53-year-old New Hampshire hospital administrator, according to The New York Post’s Page Six.
When confronted about his infidelity during the 2016 presidential campaign while he was an advisor to the Trump campaign, Giuliani did not deny his indiscretions, but rather insisted on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that cheating is something that “everybody does.”
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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