Al Gore Sex Assault Allegations Remain Unproved, Like So Many Political Sex Scandals Before It

ABC News reports that Portland, Oregon, law enforcement authorities have closed the case of a masseuse who claims to have been sexually assaulted in a hotel room by former Vice President Al Gore in 2006. After making the initial claim, the woman refused to cooperate with police, and insufficient evidence prompted the closing of the case four years later. An article on the People website stated that the woman was not seeking money, only "justice." However, the woman approached the National Enquirer last month with a request for $1 million for telling her story.

Al Gore is one of many political figures who has been involved in sex scandals that later proved to be nothing of the kind, or at least they weren't able to be proven. It begs the question: Can we keep calling it a sex scandal if there was no proof of sex, or sexual misconduct?

In 2004, the Political Star reported the presidential campaign of John Kerry was awash with allegations of infidelity. The allegation of an affair with journalist Alexandra Polier was denied by Kerry and later denied by Polier herself. While both parties denied any involvement, and no proof surfaced to indicate otherwise, the mere whiff of a sex scandal caused a media frenzy. We could only speculate on whether or not the alleged affair and the press surrounding it was a factor in Kerry losing the election, but it is quite common for rumors and allegations of impropriety to arise about a candidate when they are in the running for political office.

Nikki Haley is a prime example. The Huffington Post reported that the Republican candidate for governor of South Carolina spoke out about claims that she had an inappropriate relationship years ago with a political blogger, Will Folks. She stated that she had been faithful throughout her marriage, and called the allegation an attempt to derail her campaign. The claim came two weeks before the primary. The New York Times reports that Haley won the Republican nomination, despite the negative press she received regarding a possible inappropriate relationship with Folks. Folks had offered no proof whatsoever that would substantiate his claim.

This year also found President Barack Obama in the media spotlight following reports of a rendezvous with Vera Baker, a former US Senate campaign staffer. As reported by The Examiner, The National Enquirer broke the story of a cheating scandal involving President Obama, claiming to have video evidence. They have since retracted the claim of the existence of a video, according to Mediaite. The tabloid, which accurately reported the John Edwards affair, is now in jeopardy of returning to the rank of gossip rag without proof of their previous reports about President Obama and Baker.

Whatever the truth of these claims may be, the truth of the matter is that political elections and careers can be affected by the mere rumor of wrongdoing. And, once in the news, stories like this don't die easily.

Resources

Rhonda Schwartz and Anna Schecter, "Al Gore Sex Abuse Allegations Lack Sufficient Evidence, Say Portland Police" , ABC News

Tiffany McGee, "Al Gore Accused of Sexual Assault", People

Jake Easton, "John Kerry Rocked by Affair Claim", Political Star

Jim Davenport, "Nikki Haley Accused of AFFAIR With Conservative Blogger", Huffington Post

Jeff Zeleny, "Nikki Haley Is Winner in South Carolina Runoff", The New York Times

Hans Bader, "Newspaper that broke news of John Edwards' affair claims that Obama had affair with campaign aide", The Examiner

Frances Martel, "National Enquirer Story Update: Retracts Hotel Surveillance Claim", Mediaite