20 Political Scandals That Shocked The Country

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Gary Condit

For the most part, men are going to be men, and women are going to be women. Regardless of whether the man is the President of the Unites States, or just a grocery store clerk, we are all prone to the same temptations. The only difference is that it is a much bigger deal if you are in the political spotlight. Check out 20 of the most shocking political sex scandals in recent history. 

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In 2001 an intern of Gary Condit's went missing. Police questioned the representative about his relationship with her but he lied stating that he was not having an affair with her. His lie led people to believe that he had something to do with her going missing. Police never ended up naming him as a suspect but the bad reputation stuck with him until her remains were found and another man was convicted of her murder. 

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

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This political figure has had quite the career. Before and after his time in politics Arnold Schwarzenegger has spent his time in Hollywood as an A-list actor. In 2011, Arnold Schwarzenegger divorced his wife Maria Shriver after having an illegitimate child with a member of their house staff during their marriage. The worst part of this story is that his illegitimate child was born only a few days after his fourth child with his former wife Maria. 

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Christopher Lee

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Talk about being caught red handed... Representative Christopher Lee responded to a Craigslist ad in the women seeking men section. He told the women he was divorced when he was actually married with a child at the time. The two exchanged flirtatious emails and he even sent her shirtless pictures of him flexing. That photo would end up stealing his political career as he issued a letter of resignation just hours after the photo was released. 

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Henry Cisneros

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Henry Cisneros was the very first Latino that was appointed to a cabinet position. He would end up being convicted on 18 different counts of conspiracy after he gave false statements and obstructed Justice. The charges revolved around him lying to the FBI about payments he had made to his mistress. 

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Antonio Villaraigosa

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There are many that believe that Antonio Villaraigosa would have a cabinet position under Obama if it was not for his sex scandal. Villaraigosa was the mayor of Los Angeles when he admitted to having a sexual relationship with an anchor woman from Telemundo while he was married. Him and his wife who had been married for 20 years ended up divorcing after the affair came to light. 

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David Vitter

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David Vitter is a United States Senator who often spoke about the importance of family values. It came as quite a shock when his phone number was found in the records of the DC Madam Deborah Jean Palfrey. After his identity was revealed he apologized to his wife and publicly ask for forgiveness. 

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David Petraeus

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David Petraeus is the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. David engaged in an extramarital affair with the woman who was writing his biography at the time. The 4 Star General was even thinking for running for president of the United States but as soon as the news of his affair broke he was forced to resign as the director of the CIA. 

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Eric Massa

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This representative was accused of sexually harassing male members of his staff. Reportedly he would grope them and behave inappropriately towards male interns. Eric Massa ended up resigning as a result of the accusations but tried to dismiss them as him tickling people during his 50th birthday party.

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John Edwards

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John Edwards was a vice presidential candidate in 2008 and had rumors circling that he fathered an illegitimate child with a member of his campaign staff. During that campaign and for two years after Edwards consistently denied the claims. Rielle Hunter ended up writing a book that detailed her affair with Edwards and even discussed a sex tape that the two had made together. 

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Mark Foley

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Representative Mark Foley had to resign in 2006 after he was accused of sending sexual emails and instant messages to teenage boys. The investigation ended up being closed due to the lack of evidence but not before destroying Foley's political career. It's pretty creepy to think that some of these creeps have important roles in our government. 

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Jack Ryan

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Jack Ryan is a republican who is running for the Illinois Senate what is wife revealed a fact about him that changed everything. The actress Jeri Lynn Ryan revealed during divorce proceedings that he had taken her to strange clubs that she described as having cages, whips and other things hanging from the ceiling. He even pressured her to perform sexual acts in front of people but she refused to do so. He withdrew from the race as soon as all this came to light. 

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Jim McGreevey

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When Jim McGreevey was the governor of New Jersey he appointed a close friend as the homeland security advisor. His friend lacked the credentials needed for the position but that did not stop McGreevey. The adviser ended up threatening to sue for sexual harassment which the New Jersey governor ended up admitting that he was gay and that his friend had been his secret lover all along. 

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Bill Clinton

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This sexual infidelity nearly cost President Bill Clinton his presidency. The impeachment process began but he never ended up being impeached. The sex scandal between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky is one of the more famous political sex scandals of our time. Lewinsky was an employee of the White House during Clinton's presidency when the two began a sexual relationship. The perjury and impeachment charges the result of him lying on a televised speech about his relationship with Lewinsky. 

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Mark Sanford

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In 2009 Mark Sanford was the governor of South Carolina and mysteriously went missing. 464 days his whereabouts were unknown. A spokesperson of Sanford told the media that he was hiking when in reality he was in Argentina with a woman who was not his wife. The woman seen with him in the picture above is the mistress he was spending some quality time with. 

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Barney Frank

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Barney Frank was a ranking member of the House Financial Services committee. The representative had a lengthy relationship with a male prostitute named Steve. Frank even allowed this man to live in his home and work as a housekeeper and his driver. 

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Larry Craig

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Larry Craig was a US senator who was known as a conservative and less than supportive of gay rights. Despite the appearance that he came off as being homophobic he was caught in 2007 attempting to solicit sex in a men's restroom at an airport in Minnesota. After this story hit the news three more allegations came to light that involved sexual misconduct with men. 

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Vance McAllister

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U.S. Repersentative Vance McAllister was caught kissing a member of his staff right on camera. At the time McAllister was a very strong advocate For Strong Family Values. The scandal occurred while both he and the woman he was seen on video kissing were both married. 

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Eliot Spitzer

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Eliot Spitzer was the governor of New York when the New York Times reported that he was using campaign funds to pay for prostitutes. Reportedly he spent about $80,000 at The Emperor's Club VIP. Spitzer ended up resigning during the FBI investigation of the charges but he never ended up being prosecuted. 

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Anthony Weiner

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Anthony Weiner was a U.S. representative who sent some sexual messages to a young female follower that he had on Twitter in 2011. As soon as the news came to light he resigned from Congress. this did not however stop him from continuing to send messages to young women under a different alias. 

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Jose Huizar

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This political sex scandal even has its own CBS series based off it called The Good Wife. Jose Huizar was a city councilman of Los Angeles when he was accused of sexually harassing his aid. She claimed that he retaliated against her when she refused to provide him with sexual favors. Jose denied the accusations but did admit to having an affair with her. 

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