Idaho Statesman Logo

Sanford admits affair with woman in Argentina | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

News

Sanford admits affair with woman in Argentina

Gina Smith and Clif Leblanc - The State

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 24, 2009 12:30 PM

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford acknowledged Wednesday that he was carrying on an affair with a woman in Argentina when he disappeared from his office last week, only to resurface this morning.

Sanford said he would resign as chairman of the Republican Governors Association and asked for forgiveness from his wife and four sons.

He did not respond when asked if he would resign as governor.

He also did not identify the woman, but asked for privacy. He said that his wife had known about the affair for five months and that he had known the woman for eight years.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

He described the affair has having begun innocently enough, via e-mail.

A McClatchy special correspondent visited the 14-story apartment building in Buenos Aires where the woman reportedly lives. The woman at first agreed to speak to a visitor, but declined after the visitor identified herself as a reporter.

The doorman at the building, shown a photograph of Sanford, said he did not recognize him. According to the doorman, the woman has two sons, one a teenager of driving age and the other younger.

At several points in his news conference, Sanford appeared to be on the verge of tears. He cited his religious beliefs several times and begged forgiveness from friends and associates.

He left it unclear whether he and his wife would separate, but his wife left little doubt, releasing a statement later that said she'd asked her husband to leave two weeks ago. She said he had not told her of his travel plans.

"We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong," Jenny Sanford said. "I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago."

Sanford said his wife had known about the affair for five months.

"I have developed a relationship with what started as a dear dear friend from Argentina. It began very innocently as I expect many of these things do, just casual email back and forth," Sanford said. "But here recently this last year developed into something much more."

"What I did was wrong, period. End of story," Sanford said.

Sanford's whereabouts had been unknown since Thursday, and the mystery surrounding his absence fueled speculation about where he had been and who's in charge in his absence. His emergence Wednesday ended the mystery.

Sanford, in an interview with The State at the airport before the news conference, said he decided at the last minute to go to the South American country to recharge after a difficult legislative session in which he battled with lawmakers over how to spend federal stimulus money.

Sanford said he had considered hiking on the Appalachian Trail, an activity he said he has enjoyed since he was a high school student.

"But I said 'no' I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford said "... It's a great city."

Sanford, in a brief interview in the nation's busiest airport, said he has been to the city twice before, most recently about a year and half ago during a Commerce Department trip.

Sanford said he was alone on the trip. He declined to give any additional details about what he did other than to say he drove along the coastline.

Sanford, who was wearing a blue and white button down shirt and brown denim pants, said he left for Buenos Aires on Thursday night from Columbia Metropolitan Airport and had originally planned to come back tomorrow.

Media reports said a SLED SUV the governor drove that night was spotted in the airport's parking lot.

Sanford's spokesman Joel Sawyer declined to immediately comment, and the governor did not return cell phone messages.

Critics slammed his administration for lying to the public.

"Lies. Lies. Lies. That's all we get from his staff. That's all we get from his people. That's all we get from him," said state Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia. "Why all the big cover-up?"

Trying to drive along the coast could frustrate a weekend visitor to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the Avenida Costanera is the only coastal road, and it's less than two miles long. Reaching coastal resorts to the south requires a drive of nearly four hours on an inland highway with views of endless cattle ranches. To the north is a river delta of islands reached only by boat.

A spokesman for Argentina's immigration agency wouldn't comment Wednesday on whether Sanford entered the country, citing privacy laws.

The governor said he cut his trip short after his chief of staff, Scott English, told him his trip was gaining a lot of media attention and he needed to come back.

When asked why his staff said he was on the Appalachian Trail, Sanford replied, "I don't know."

Sanford later said "in fairness to his staff," he had told them he might go hiking on the Appalachian Trial.

Sanford said he decided not to return via the Columbia airport to avoid the media. The State Media Company was the only media who greeted Sanford this morning.

"I don't know how this thing got blown out of proportion," Sanford said.

Sanford said he has taken adventure trips for years to unwind. He has visited such places as the coast of Turkey, the Greek Isles and South America. He was with friends sometimes and sometimes by himself.

"I would get out of the bubble I am in," Sanford said.

Sanford said the legislative session was a difficult one for him, particularly losing the fight over whether he should accept stimulus $700 million in stimulus money he wanted lawmakers to spend on debt instead of urgent budget needs.

"It was a long session and I needed a break," Sanford said.

After a brief conversation with a reporter, Sanford was escorted away by an aide.

McClatchy Special Correspondent Angeles Mase contributed from Buenos Aires.

Related stories from Idaho Statesman

news

Commentary: Don't cry for Sanford's Argentina swing

June 24, 2009 11:48 AM

news

Where was GOP's Sanford? Argentina, not Appalachia

June 24, 2009 07:13 AM

news

Where's Sanford? The timeline up to now

June 24, 2009 07:26 AM

news

Bad day for Sanford: S.C. lawmakers overturn 10 vetoes, go home for year

June 16, 2009 10:42 PM

business

South Carolina's Gov. Sanford won't appeal stimulus ruling

June 01, 2009 06:53 PM

news

How loss might affect S.C. governor Sanford

June 05, 2009 02:06 PM

  Comments  

Videos

Tim Eyman under investigation in theft of chair from Lacey Office Depot

Washington music teacher sings ‘Snow Day’ after classes are called off -- again

View More Video

Trending Stories

Farmers market to leave heart of Downtown Boise. Here’s where it’s going, and why

February 15, 2019 04:13 PM

4 Boise teens arrested, arraigned for suspected rape of 18-year-old

February 15, 2019 11:10 AM

Gene Simmons surprises Idaho’s biggest KISS fan (while he’s working at Arctic Circle)

February 15, 2019 04:34 PM

Idaho taxpayers’ tab for lawsuits just grew another $1.8M, up to more than $5M since 2012

February 15, 2019 08:48 AM

Big subdivisions in Nampa and Kuna. Apartments in Boise. See what’s coming near you

February 15, 2019 11:05 AM

Read Next

This employee worried ITD’s radiation tools were missing. Then he got fired. Now, he’s suing

State Politics

This employee worried ITD’s radiation tools were missing. Then he got fired. Now, he’s suing

By Cynthia Sewell

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 01:00 AM

A former Idaho Department of Transportation employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit because he was fired shortly after talking to Nuclear Regulatory Commission about possible violations.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE NEWS

Business

Hundreds stranded as British airline Flybmi collapses

February 17, 2019 02:45 AM
France’s yellow vests mark 3 months amid racist tensions

Business

France’s yellow vests mark 3 months amid racist tensions

February 17, 2019 02:27 AM
US-backed Syria force says IS holding 1,000 civilians

Nation & World

US-backed Syria force says IS holding 1,000 civilians

February 17, 2019 02:19 AM

Nation & World

Fire in slum kills 9 in southeastern Bangladesh

February 17, 2019 02:18 AM
Abu Dhabi arms fair opens amid Yemen war criticism

Business

Abu Dhabi arms fair opens amid Yemen war criticism

February 17, 2019 02:15 AM

National Politics

Michigan lawmakers may forgive snow days after frigid temps

February 17, 2019 02:11 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story