merge9
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Joined: 6/11/2012 Status: offline
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In case anyone needed a refresher on the "adultery" part of the thread title: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Sanford#Disappearance_and_extramarital_affair From June 18 until June 24, 2009, the whereabouts of Sanford were unknown to the public, as well as to his wife and the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for him, garnering nationwide news coverage. The absence of Governor Sanford was first reported by Jim Davenport of the Associated Press.[40][41] Lieutenant Governor André Bauer announced that he could not "take lightly that his staff has not had communication with him for more than four days, and that no one, including his own family, knows his whereabouts."[42] Before his disappearance, Sanford told his staff that he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail and while he was gone he did not answer 15 cell phone calls from his chief of staff Scott English; he also failed to call his family on Father's Day.[43] Reporter Gina Smith intercepted Sanford arriving at Atlanta's airport on a flight from Argentina. Several hours later, after learning that incriminating evidence was being swiftly mobilized against him by the media, Sanford held a news conference, during which he admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife.[44][45] In emotional interviews with the Associated Press over two days, Sanford said he would die "knowing that I had met my soul mate."[46] Sanford also said that he "crossed the lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage, but not as far as he did with his mistress. "There were a handful of instances wherein I crossed the lines I shouldn't have crossed as a married man, but never crossed the ultimate line," he said.[46] ... Reimbursement for his private use of public funds After his affair was revealed in June 2009, Sanford first claimed, "There's been a lot of speculation and innuendo on whether or not public moneys were used to advance my admitted unfaithfulness. To be very clear: no public money was ever used in connection with this."[60] After a reporter used the Freedom of Information Act to seek records of what public funds were used to pay for Sanford's trip to Argentina,[61] Sanford eventually chose to reimburse taxpayers for expenses he had incurred one year earlier with his mistress in Argentina.[62] He said, "I made a mistake while I was there in meeting with the woman who I was unfaithful to my wife with. That has raised some very legitimate concerns and questions, and as such I am going to reimburse the state for the full cost of the Argentina leg of this trip.” On August 9, 2009, the AP reported that Sanford may have violated state law by other abusive use of state planes, including to fly to get a haircut.[63]
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