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If there’s one thing the news cycle can always depend on to draw in readers, it’s a good old-fashioned American sex scandal. Hard-hitting news authorities like People and Vanity Fair are typically unstoppable forces in finding out who is having sex with who in the world of celebrities, but once in a while a politician will risk it all with an intern or something, and then suddenly sex scandals become important, respected pieces of journalism worthy of coverage by every major news outlet. Throughout the course of American History, literally hundreds of politicians have welshed on their own alleged belief systems and embarrassed themselves in the national spotlight, particularly when it comes to sex. Republicans and Democrats alike are equally as guilty as one another in this respect. Here’s a look back at some of the wildest (and weirdest) political sex scandals to date.
10. Eric Massa
Eric Massa is not so much a sexual deviant like the others as he is a supreme weirdo. The New York Democrat serving in the House of Representatives resigned after citing an ongoing ethics investigation and declining health in 2010. The ethics investigation that effectively ended his career was centered around a sexual harassment allegation from a member of Massa’s staff. He admitted that the investigation was entirely his fault, and admirably took responsibility for his actions although he claimed he did not remember specific instances. Massa’s case would have just been remembered as a routine sexual harassment case, but Massa later stated on Fox News that he “not only did I [Massa] grope [a staffer], I tickled him until he couldn’t breathe.” In 2017 it was revealed that Congress had paid nearly $100,000 to two male staff people who had accused Massa.
9. Charles S Robb.
Ole’ Chuck Robb embodied the archetype of an American politician right up until it was discovered that he too, was a degenerate like the rest of us – sort of. Chuck served in the military from 1961 – 1970, a governor of Virginia from 1982 – 1986, and then as a senator from 1981 – 2001 before co-chairing the Iraq Intelligence Commission in 2004. None of that is very sexy but stick with me here. He ran as a Democrat in all his elections but identified as a centrist – acting as an intermediary between the two parties. Essentially, he is (and probably still is) a pretty good dude. However, he comes in at number 10 only because of his unique anecdote about posing for Playboy, the famous porn magazine and having Miss Virginia, Tai Collins, accuse him of sleeping with her (despite him denying it). WHAT?! Precisely. Sure other politicians cheated on their wives a ridiculous amount, but no others stripped down and posed nude in exchange for money at any point during their careers. Chuck, if you’re reading this, feel free to add this rank to your already impressive list of accomplishments.
8. Mel Reynolds
If you do any research about politician-rapist, or rather rapist-politician, Mel Reynolds, you’ll quickly discover his criminal allegations and weird sex stuff eclipse his political accomplishments. As a Democrat from Illinois, Reynolds was elected to the United States House Of Representatives in 1993. A year later, Reynolds was indicted for sexual abuse, assault, and statutory rape of a 16-year-old during his previous campaign in 1992. Nevertheless, his political stances and non-sexual integrity were so strong that the people opted for him in his re-election campaign, it also helped that he ran unopposed. Fortunately, his very clear and criminal behavior was recognized in August 1995 when he was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, child porn, and obstruction of justice. He then went to prison for only 5 years then got in trouble again for a bunch of money scandals, but those are not sex-related so they will not be included in this list.
7. Scott Desjarlais
Scott Desjarlais, a Republican serving in the House of Representatives with three children is an enormous hypocrite. For a practicing doctor and vehement disavower of abortions, he certainly seemed enthusiastic about his mistress getting one in a 2000 phone conversation. Scumbag level: critical. In 2001, the Chatanooga Times Free Press got a hold of his divorce proceedings which detailed his admission of 6 sexual encounters with partners and patients during his time at Grandview Medical Center. Oh, and he also verified that he had two abortions with his former wife. For contrast, his official position on other people having abortions, however, is “All lives should be cherished and protected.”
6. Wilbur Mills
Wilbur Mills, a Democrat from Arkansas and Harvard educated politician oddly became best known for his escapades with an Argentine stripper named Fanne Foxe. Said escapades first became known to the public after Mills was pulled over for not having his headlights on. He was discovered to be drunk AF. The lovely Fanne Foxe abandoned ship and jumped into Tidal Basin, a nearby reservoir, to escape punishment. She did not do so successfully. Still, Mills was elected with 60% of the vote in his next contest. After his election, a drunken Mills gave a press conference from in Fanne Foxe’s dressing room. Mills eventually stepped down from office and checked himself into rehab.
5. Larry Craig
Larry Craig had been involved with politics for several decades, and like many of his colleagues, succumbed to the X-factor that compels political role models to start exploring their sexuality in the most high-stakes, weirdest ways possible. After serving as a representative from Idaho, a Senator, chair of the Aging Committee, and chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee until 2007, Craig was arrested by an undercover police officer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Men’s restroom for “lewd” behavior. An undercover cop was stationed in the restroom stall after a man (Craig) was observed peeking into occupied stalls. At a certain point, Craig entered the stall next to the police officer and proceeded to beckon sexual favors from under the stall – playing footsy, waving his hand, and tapping on the stall. The police officer then flashed his badge under the stall in response. In his defense, Craig insisted that he has a “Wide Stance” on the john and that he was not soliciting any sexual favors. Craig resigned that same year, and fervently denies being gay.
4. Donald Trump
Name sound familiar? Get this, if you haven’t been paying attention to the news, Donald Trump is indeed still the president of the United States. The king of controversy has a slew of pending accusations against him, but so far he’s proven to be almost invincible in the face of his adversaries. Most notably, 19 women have come forward with stories of sexual assault by the leader of the free world, not to mention his past affair with Porn Actress Stormy Daniels. Trump denies all the accusations and writes them off as part of an initiative to dethrone him. In perhaps his most famous line concerning his sexual assault incidents, Trump stated, “I just start kissing them, I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it, you can do anything … grab them by the pussy.” Classic Trump, what a player.
3. Roy Moore
In the past year or so, the name Roy Moore has become synonymous with scummy-pervert-child-groper, as it should be. Nine women accused Moore of sexual misconduct in 2017, two of which were well underage. One woman was 16 at the time of the incident, and another was 14. Granted, most of the events happened in the 1970s, but the fact that a man in his 30s took a sexual interest in what most sane people would consider children, should be enough to raise some eyebrows and reconsider his eligibility for reelection. Roy Moore tried to rectify his perverted public image after the allegations by assuring voters that he did not “remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother.” Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Paul Ryan all called for Moore to step aside, but Donald Trump (Number 5) remained loyal to Moore’s campaign. Eventually, Moore lost to Doug Jones, the first Democrat to be elected in Alabama in several decades. Please watch this video:
2. Bill Clinton
Perhaps the most famous case of sexual misconduct in American History was committed by none other than President Bill Clinton. Of course, everyone knows about the extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, but there’s a little more to the Bill Clinton political sex-crimes saga. For starters, Juanita Broderick, Kathleen Wiley, and Paula Jones have accused Clinton of rape, groping, and indecent exposure, respectively. Yet, Clinton fiercely denies all these accusations. Clinton has admitted only to the accusations of Monica Lewinsky and the lesser known Gennifer Flowers. Despite both encounters being consensual, some speculate that the gross imbalance of power, particularly in the case of Monica Lewinsky, who was an intern, dissolves all conception of consent. Bill Clinton now lives with his wife, Hillary, in Chappaqua, New York and upholds a seemingly consensual relationship with her, although sometimes its hard to tell.
1. Anthony Weiner
“Take a picture, maybe it’ll last longer.” Indeed, pictures do last forever, Anthony. The Anthony Weiner Scandal is undoubtedly the most ridiculous series of events in the history of weird political sex transgressions, and it is not even close. To put this scandal in perspective, Anthony Weiner was a passionate and courageous up-and-coming young voice for Democrats that really did garner a lot of support on his policies for a long time. He stood up for what he believed in and fiercely fought his opposers. He also was married to Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s top aide for probably longer than he deserved. Weiner was a force.
Weiner, however, wasn’t too good with technology, and in an almost prophetic downfall, involuntarily documented his entire package on Twitter. Initially, he meant to send his raging bulge to a college student via direct message but instead posted it directly to his feed. With his wife pregnant, Weiner was discovered to have been flirting with at least 6 women online. One of the women was a 17-year-old girl, to whom he deployed some of the smoothest pick-up lines ever recorded. “I’d bust that tight pussy, ” says Weiner. He also repeatedly updates her on how hard he is, among other things. Weiner decided to step down temporarily after the incident first became widely publicised.
Two years later in 2013, Weiner announced his campaign for Mayor, running on a platform of “Second Chances.” Early in the campaign, Anthony Weiner’s online alias, Carlos Danger, was discovered to be in contact with another woman for as long as a year after he originally resigned. While not currently a routine for Weiner, this development shed some light on the integrity of his promises to the public. Weiner won less than 5% of the vote in the mayoral election.
Then again in 2015, Weiner engaged with another woman with whom he sent even more lewd photos, according to the New York Post. One of the shirtless selfies he took had his son sleeping in the bed next to him.
Finally, on May 19, 2017, Weiner admitted to engaging with a minor (said to be 15 years old) in familiar fashion. In his official statement he said, “Through approximately March 2016, I engaged in obscene communications with this teenager, including sharing explicit images and encouraging her to engage in sexually explicit conduct, just as I had done and continued to do with adult women. I knew this was as morally wrong as it was unlawful.”
His wife Huma filed for divorce several hours later.