Mark Souder

Quayle Picks Up Whistleblowing Former Souder Staffer

Jillian Rayfield | December 28, 2010, 10:09AM

Rep.-Elect Ben Quayle (R-AZ)

Rep.-Elect Ben Quayle (R-AZ) has brought on Renee Hudson, the former chief of staff of adulterous former Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), to be his new chief of staff. Hudson reportedly brought news of Souder's dalliance to GOP leadership after confronting her boss.

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Office of Congressional Ethics

Half A Dozen Reps Being Investigated For Use Of Travel Funds

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 11:11AM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Six members of the House of Representatives are being questioned by congressional investigators over the possibility they kept the remainder of the per diem payments they receive when traveling overseas on official trips.

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Mark Souder

Souder: Regular Prayers And Hymns Failed To Stop Affair

Justin Elliott | June 16, 2010, 10:30AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

If only Mark Souder had listened to Dan Quayle, everything would have turned out better.

Souder, the Indiana Republican congressman who resigned last month after admitting to an affair with a staffer, is still giving interviews. In the latest, with the Christian WORLD magazine, Souder says that when he was first elected to Congress in 1994, Quayle called and advised him to move his family to Washington. Souder now regrets not taking the advice.

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Mark Souder

Souder: Scandal, Shmandal -- I Was Gonna Resign Anyway!

Ben Frumin | May 26, 2010, 5:58PM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Former Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) -- who resigned earlier this month over an affair with a staffer -- claimed in a local newspaper story this week that he was going to quit anyway, regardless of the scandal.

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Mark Souder

Souder: I'm Happy That Abstinence Vid With Mistress Now Defines Me (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 24, 2010, 9:02AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) and Tracy Jackson (inset)

In an interview with a local Indiana newspaper, former congressman Mark Souder said he's actually gratified that the pro-abstinence video he filmed with girlfriend and staffer Tracy Jackson is what now defines him in the national media and on late-night comedy shows.

"If some people see this abstinence video, I'm living proof of what we're saying in it. If they actually listen to the words, maybe it's worth it," Souder told the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. The longtime family values Republican added: "You'll go crazy if you don't have some sense of irony."

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Mark Souder

Souder's Resignation Letter

Rachel Slajda | May 20, 2010, 6:34PM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

TPMmuckraker has obtained Rep. Mark Souder's (R-IN) resignation letter.

In the letter, addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and dated May 18, Souder writes that his resignation is effective May 21.

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Ethics

New House Ethics Paradigm: Leadership Must Rat Out Members

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 7:28PM

Former Rep. Mark Foley, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), and former Rep. Eric Massa

After learning that Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) had an affair with a staffer, two House Republican leaders felt compelled to inform the ethics committee of the matter. Why?

Taking that step appears to be part of a new M.O. when leadership hears about an allegation of misconduct: tell the ethics committee quickly to inoculate yourself and your party against accusations of inaction later on.

"That's the new standard: the leadership ratting out its members where there's an allegation of misconduct," Stan Brand, a former House general counsel, tells TPMmuckraker.

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Mark Souder

Pence: I Notified Ethics Committee After Learning Of Souder Affair

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 4:40PM

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the No. 3 Republican in the House and an Indiana colleague of Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), informed the ethics committee that Souder was having an affair with a staffer after Souder informed him of the matter on Sunday, a Pence spokesman said today.

It's not clear why Pence went to the ethics committee about the affair.

Pence first heard about the Souder affair after a journalist approached him last Wednesday, he said at a press conference earlier today. Pence says he approached Souder on the House floor about the matter, and Souder told him about the affair.

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Mark Souder

Staffer Who Had Affair With Souder Resigns

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 3:00PM

Tracy Jackson

Tracy Jackson, the part-time staffer who had an affair with Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), on Tuesday resigned her position, which at least partly consisted of interviewing Souder for a Web video series, the AP reports.

Mark Souder

Conservative Women's Group: Souder Affair Shows 'It Could Happen To Anyone'

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 10:51AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) and Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) conducted a years-long extramarital affair with a staffer while preaching traditional family values, sponsoring a "Marriage Protection Amendment" to the Constitution, and even filming a pro-abstinence video with his girlfriend.

But it turns out Souder had no agency in the matter after all, according to the president of a leading conservative women's group.

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Mark Souder

Asked In '98 If He'd Had An Affair, Souder Hung Up On Interviewer (AUDIO)

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 9:20AM

Mark Souder in 2004 trying out Saddam Hussein's "Spider Hole"

This is fun: The folks at Democracy Now have posted Lewinsky scandal-era audio of host Amy Goodman asking Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), "are you now or have you ever been involved in an extramarital sexual affair?"

At which point, Souder's line goes dead.

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Mark Souder

Report: Souder And Mistress Allegedly Frequented State Parks

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 2:44PM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

The Washington Post provides some detail on why Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), who won a Republican primary earlier this month, decided to resign over his affair with a staffer at this particular moment:

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Mark Souder

Souder Announces Resignation, Without Wife, At Press Conference (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 1:15PM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Admitting an affair with a staffer, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) announced his resignation at a Fort Wayne press conference today -- and, in a comment not in his prepared statement, managed to briefly play the role of moralist by condemning philandering politicians who ask their wives to appear with them.

"My family were more than willing to stand here with me -- we are a committed family. But the error is mine and I should bear the responsibility," Souder said. "And, quite frankly, I'm sick of politicians who drag their spouses up in front of the cameras, rather than confronting the problem that they have caused."

And in another departure from his prepared remarks, Souder seemed to hint at some possible allegation of legal impropriety:

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Mark Souder

Rep. Souder And Mistress Recorded Video Praising Abstinence (WATCH)

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 10:37AM

Tracy Jackson

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) had an affair with a part-time staffer named Tracy Jackson, Fox is reporting. Jackson played the role of interviewer for a Souder Web video show on the issues of the day -- including one on the value of abstinence.

Dubbed "Congressional Update with Congressman Mark Souder," the show hit on issues like intelligent design and fencing the border.

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Mark Souder

Family Values GOP Rep To Resign Over Affair (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 9:23AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), a champion of abstinence education and traditional family values, will resign effective Friday after an affair with a female staffer in his district office, he announced today.

He said in a statement that he "sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff." And he blamed the atmosphere in Washington for forcing him to make the move:

"In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain. I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process."

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