This list contains notable sex scandals in American history involving incumbent U.S. federal elected politicians and persons appointed with the consent of the United States Senate. [1] [2] [3] This list does not include politicians' sex crimes. [4] [ disputed – discuss ]
This list is ordered chronologically, with emphasis on modern scandals. Before the 1970s, American media did not cover political sex scandals extensively. [5] Additionally, outing politicians has increased since 1989. [6]
For all listed people, the scandal (or scandalous behavior) occurred while they were occupying a federal office, even if coverage was posthumous.
This list does not cover instances or accusations of sexism, homophobia, or exhibitionism that do not include or seek sexual activity.
A scandal is "loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual, accused, or apparent violation of morality or propriety." [7] Scandal is not the same as controversy or unpopularity. Misunderstandings, breaches of ethics, and cover-ups may result in scandals, depending on the amount of publicity generated and the seriousness of the alleged behavior. [8]
Federal politicians:
State and local politics:
For more than a year there have been floating rumors of improper intimacy between Mr. Key and Mrs. Sickles. They have occasionally attended parties, the opera and rode out together. Mr. Sickles has heard of these reports but would never credit them until Thursday evening. On that evening, just as a party was about breaking up at his house, Mr. Sickles received among his papers...
In his January deposition, the President, though finally confirming a sexual encounter with Ms. Flowers, was precise in denying Ms. Willey's report that he had sought to kiss her and feel her breasts
the uncomfortable dynamics of Hill's relationship with a staffer who was almost a decade her junior and a recent college graduate.
...a relationship with [...] a 22-year-old female subordinate on her payroll
Brockman Adams was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat from Washington, Adams served as a U.S. Representative, Senator, and United States Secretary of Transportation. He was forced to retire in January 1993 due to public and widespread sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape allegations.
The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on soliciting emails and sexually suggestive instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a Republican congressman from Florida, to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congressional pages. Investigation was closed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on September 19, 2008 citing insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges as both "Congress and Mr. Foley denied us access to critical data," said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey. The scandal grew to encompass the response of Republican congressional leaders to previous complaints about Foley's contacts with the pages and inconsistencies in the leaders' public statements. There were also allegations that a second Republican congressman, Jim Kolbe, had improper conduct with at least two youths, a 16-year-old page and a recently graduated page.
Eric James Joseph Massa is a former American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for the 29th Congressional District of New York. A Democrat, he served in Congress from January 2009 until his resignation in March 2010. Massa resigned during a pending House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Massa identified his declining health and the ongoing ethics investigation as the reasons for his resignation; however, he later said that there was a conspiracy "to oust him because he had voted against overhauling health care." It was reported in 2017 that Congress had paid nearly $100,000 to settle the harassment claims made by two male staffers against Massa.
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final weeks of Barack Obama's presidency and the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.
Rubén Jesús Kihuen Bernal is an American politician and former member of the United States House of Representatives for Nevada's 4th congressional district, serving from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was a member of the Nevada Senate from 2006 to 2016. He was Nevada's first Latino member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Kihuen described himself as the first "Dreamer" elected to Congress. In December 2017, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Kihuen to resign in response to sexual misconduct allegations against him by a female campaign staff member, as reported by BuzzFeed. He refused to resign but did not run for reelection in 2018.
Randy L. Baumgardner is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 57th district from 2009 to 2013, and in the Colorado Senate from the 8th district from 2013 to 2019, as a member of the Republican Party. Baumgardner resigned after more allegations came out against him following an unsuccessful expulsion vote.
Randolph Blake Farenthold is an American politician and lobbyist. A member of the Republican Party, Farenthold co-hosted a conservative talk-radio program before beginning a career in politics. Farenthold served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district from 2011 until his resignation in April 2018 in the wake of reports he used public funds to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit and had created an intensely hostile work environment for women in his congressional office. Upon resigning, Farenthold pledged to reimburse the US$84,000 in public money that he used to settle the lawsuit. He later reneged on his pledge to repay.
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States (1993–2001), has been publicly accused of sexual misconduct, including rape, harassment, and sexual assault. Additionally, some commentators have characterized Clinton's sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky as predatory or non-consensual, despite the fact that Lewinsky called the relationship consensual at the time. These allegations have been revisited and lent more credence in 2018, in light of the #MeToo movement, with many commentators and Democratic leaders now saying Clinton should have been compelled to resign after the Lewinsky scandal.
Dan Schoen is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 54 in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is also a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he represented District 54A.
Vance Michael McAllister Sr. is an American businessman and Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th congressional district. He won a special runoff election held on November 16, 2013, for the seat vacated by fellow Republican Rodney Alexander.
Michael Oreskes is an American journalist who worked at the New York Daily News and for 20 years at The New York Times. Oreskes later became the vice president and senior managing editor at the Associated Press before joining NPR as senior vice president of news and editorial director in 2015. Oreskes was ousted in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Wesley Goodman is an American former Republican politician who served as the Ohio State Representative for the 87th District from 2016 until his resignation in 2017. His former district consists of Crawford, Morrow and Wyandot counties, as well as portions of Marion and Seneca counties.
The 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals saw a heightened period of allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault, and resulted in the subsequent firings and resignations of American politicians. Some of the allegations are linked to the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases starting in October 2017 amid the wider MeToo movement.
Katherine Lauren Hill is an American former politician and social services administrator from Agua Dulce, California. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the U.S. representative for California's 25th congressional district from January to November 2019. Hill is the former executive director of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), a statewide non-profit organization working to end homelessness throughout California. She won her seat by defeating incumbent Republican Steve Knight in the 2018 midterm elections.
Over the course of one week in February 2019, all three of Virginia's statewide elected executive officials became engulfed in scandal, and were consequently the subjects of nationwide bipartisan calls for resignation or removal from office.
The 2018 elections for the Oregon Legislative Assembly determined the composition of both houses for the 80th Oregon Legislative Assembly. The Republican and Democratic parties held primary elections on May 15, 2018, with general elections on November 6, 2018.
Michael Patrick Zabel is an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 163rd district from 2019 to 2023.
David Madison Cawthorn is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Cawthorn describes himself as a Christian and a constitutional conservative.
Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York, was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women starting in December 2020, with the accusations covering a range of alleged behavior. He denied all allegations and has apologized for his comments being interpreted as sexually charged. On February 28, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she would hire and deputize a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations. On March 11, the New York State Assembly authorized an impeachment investigation into the allegations. In August 2021, James released an investigatory report that stated that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women during his time in office, with actions such as unwanted groping, kissing and sexual comments. The controversy surrounding these allegations culminated in Governor Cuomo's resignation from office. Cuomo was replaced by his Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul.