Sanford Mistress: Divorced, Mom of 2, 'Beautiful Brunette'

(NEWSER) - A trove of emails from Mark Sanford's office contains no discussion of his recent disappearance or the resulting scandal, the State reports. Critics suspect the South Carolina governor is holding something back. “It’s a very legitimate suspicion,” a professor says. “Complex organizations in the 21st century are highly dependent on e-mail.” Within the innocuous emails, however, are clues to another communication system. More»

(NEWSER) - Mark Sanford's embattled staffers really didn't know where he was when he bolted to Argentina to visit his lover last month, the State reports. Emails and phone records show that Sanford's chief of staff called the governor's cell phones 15 times during the trip without getting an answer. His communications director, meanwhile, told curious media that Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail, as Sanford had indicated to his staff. More»

(NEWSER) - It's a relative tidal wave of good news for Mark Sanford: Wife Jenny issued a statement today calling his affair "inexcusable" but reiterating that she's willing to forgive him, reports ABC News. As for his political career, she says it's up to South Carolina voters and lawmakers whether to "give Mark a second chance." Her statement came just after a state investigation cleared Sanford of any legal wrongdoing in his overseas trips. More»

Argentine mistress saw another man, but told Gov, 'You are my love'

(NEWSER) - Mark Sanford’s lovey-dovey e-mails were discovered—and e-mailed to a South Carolina newspaper—by another man his mistress was dating, a former coworker tells the New York Times. He says the mistress, who’s been identified as María Belén Chapur, began dating a young Argentinean man a few months into her relationship with Sanford. He saw one of her e-mails to Sanford, and hacked her account to get the rest. More»

(NEWSER) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted today that he has been having an affair with an Argentine woman, Politico reports. “I’ve been unfaithful to be my wife,” the Republican said at a teary and rambling news conference in which he explained his mysterious absence. “It began very innocently,” Sanford said. "About a year ago it sparked into something more than that. I have seen her three times since then, during that whole sparking thing. And at that point, we went into serious overdrive in trying to say, 'Where do you go from here?'" More»