Former Senator Pete Domenici admitted Wednesday that he had fathered a baby with the daughter of Senator Paul Laxalt 30 years ago while he was still married to his wife of more than 50 years. According to the Washington Post on Feb. 20, Senator Domenici admitted that he had an affair with the 24 year old daughter of his U.S. Senate colleague, Senator Paul Laxalt. The resulting child had been kept secret until now.
Senator Domenici and Michelle Laxalt believed that someone was getting ready to go public with the news, so they announced it themselves in a statement to the Albuquerque Journal and identified their son as Nevada attorney Adam Paul Laxalt.
Michelle Laxalt raised her son as a single mother to avoid scandal in the Senate. Senator Domenici, now 80, has eight children with his wife, and he says that he just told her about his other son a few months ago.
The obvious observation about this story is the shock that the elderly Mrs. Domenici must have felt upon receiving this news from her 80-year-old husband. You can read Tammy Bruce's remarks about the situation here. The former senator, though, seemed most interested in keeping his reputation and legacy as a hard-working senator for the state of New Mexico:
“I deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior,” Domenici, 80, said in his statement. “I hope New Mexicans will view that my accomplishments for my beloved state outweigh my personal transgression.”
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