AWOL governor admits affair with Argentine

June 25, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After going AWOL for seven days, Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair. Wiping away tears, he apologized to his family and gave up a national Republican Party post but was silent on whether he would resign.

“I’ve been unfaithful to my wife,” he said in a news conference in which the 49-year-old governor ruminated on God’s law, moral absolutes and following one’s heart. He said he spent the last five days “crying in Argentina.”

Sanford, who in recent months had been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, said he would resign as head of the Republican Governors Association.

By leaving the country without formally transferring power, critics said he neglected his gubernatorial authority and put the state at risk. It wasn’t clear how his staff could reach him in an emergency.

At least one state lawmaker called for his resignation. As a congressman, Sanford voted in favor of three of four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, citing the need for “moral legitimacy.”

The affair is now over, Sanford said, describing the woman who lives in Argentina as a “dear, dear friend” whom he has known for about eight years and been romantically involved with for about a year. He said he has seen her three times since the affair began, and his wife found out about it five months ago. A newspaper published steamy e-mails between Sanford and the woman. He did not identify her.

“What I did was wrong. Period,” he said. His family did not attend the news conference, and his wife ,Jenny Sanford, said she asked the governor to leave and stop speaking to her two weeks ago. The governor said he wants to reconcile, and his wife’s statement said her husband has earned a chance to resurrect their marriage.

Sanford denied instructing his staff to cover up his affair but acknowledged that he told them he thought he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail and never corrected that impression after leaving for South America.

Jenny Sanford, a millionaire whose family fortune comes from the Skil Corp. power tool company, has been central to Sanford’s political career.

Sanford’s announcement came a day after another prominent Republican, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, apologized to his GOP Senate colleagues after revealing last week that he had an affair with a campaign staffer and was resigning from the GOP leadership.