Mark Sanford Responds to Trespassing Allegations
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesUPDATE: The National Republican Congressional Committee will no longer commit funds to Mark Sanford as a result of trespassing allegations. Spokesperson Andrea Bozek says “the NRCC will not be engaged in this special election.”
(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford addressed a trespassing complaint by his ex-wife Wednesday, saying he visited her house during February’s Super Bowl because he didn’t want his son to watch the game alone.
Jenny Sanford said the visit, in which he made his way to the door using a cell phone as a flashlight, violated the terms of their divorce settlement. He has been ordered to appear in court May 9, just two days after his upcoming congressional election.
Governor Sanford issued a statement Wednesday, arguing that he tried to reach his ex-wife beforehand. She had apparently been out of town before finding him on her back porch, glowing cell phone in hand.
The couple divorced in 2010 after Mark Sanford admitted he lied about traveling to meet his Argentine mistress, Maria Chapur. Sanford and Chapur are now engaged.
Despite the public embarrassment, Sanford won the Republican primary for a South Carolina congressional seat. His Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, had no comment on the alleged trespassing incident.
Jenny Sanford said the complaint had nothing to do with his political aspirations, but rather the couple’s four sons, of whom she has custody.
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