Political Scandals

• Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon went on trial on corruption charges Nov. 9. Dixon is accused of persuading wealthy supporters to donate thousands of dollars in gift cards for needy families -- and then using the cards herself at Old Navy and Target. If convicted, she will be booted out of office.
  
  
  

  Steve Ruark, Getty Images

• Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., admitted in June that he had a nearly yearlong extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former member of his campaign staff. An article in today's New York Times suggests his efforts to secure a job for her husband Doug Hampton, a longtime aide, may have breached Senate ethics laws.
  
  
  

  Isaac Brekken, AP

• California Assemblyman Mike Duvall resigned Sept. 9 after he was videotaped bragging in graphic detail about having sex with a female lobbyist and another woman. The married Republican, a "family values" politician, apparently didn't realize his mic was live when he chatted away to another man during a legislative session.
  
  
  

  republican.assembly.ca.gov

• South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to an extramarital affair on June 24, following days of intrigue and speculation about a secret vacation he took. While his staff said he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, it turns out Sanford -- a married father of four -- was in Argentina, visiting his mistress.
  
  
  

  Mary Ann Chastain, AP

• A Congressional task force is weighing the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent, who is accused of sexually assaulting two women who worked in his courthouse. While Kent has admitted to some sexual harassment, the judge's attorney called the women's accusations "highly exaggerated."
  
  
  

  Pat Sullivan, AP

• Tennessee State Sen. Paul Stanley resigned his seat July 28 after his affair with a 22-year-old intern was revealed during an extortion investigation. Stanley, a married father of two, was allegedly blackmailed for $10,000 by McKensie Morrison's boyfriend, who claimed to have revealing photos of Morrison taken by the GOP senator.
  
  
  

  Mark Humphrey, AP

• The FBI on May 26 released a wiretap transcript in which Roland Burris presses the brother of then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to help him win an appointment to the Senate. Burris, who was later appointed to the U.S. Senate, promises to "do something" to help Blagojevich's campaign.
  
  
  

  Scott Olson, Getty Images

• Blagojevich was kicked out of office by the Illinois State Senate on Jan. 29, a move that came two months after his arrest by federal authorities. He's accused of corruption, including attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.
  
  
  

  Charles Rex Arbogast, AP

• John Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina who ran for president last year, admitted to having an affair with a woman whose company he hired for work on his campaign. The federal government is investigating how he spent his campaign funds, including money paid to his then-mistress' company. Edwards said the expenses broke no laws.
  
  
  

  Charles Rex Arbogast, AP

• Sam Adams, the mayor of Portland, Ore., said Jan. 25 that he would not resign from office. Adams admitted to having a sexual relationship with a male teenager in 2005. The 45-year-old, who is openly gay, had denied it for a year but acknowledged the relationship after a local newspaper broke the story.
  
  
  

  Greg Wahl-Stephens, AP