SANFORD FLASHBACK: Livingston’s infidelity should be “taken very, very seriously”

Posted Jun 24, 2009, 9:46 PM PT by Jed Lewison • First broadcast: Dec 18, 1998

Turns out in 1998, Mark Sanford confronted a similar situation to his own, the marital infidelity of former House Speaker Bob Livingston. Instead of dismissing the subject as a private matter, Sanford said Livingston’s actions had to be "taken very, very seriously."

Shortly thereafter, Sanford voted to impeach President Clinton.

Transcript:

BILL PRESS: Mark Sanford, before we get into Iraq — you have heard this news — do you think for the good of the party now that Bob Livingston should step down?

REP. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I don’t know. I am going to struggle through that. You know, I skipped the conference tonight to be here with you all. I am going to talk to… (LAUGHTER) Yes, yes, yes. It’s quite a conference to have missed. But I am going to talk to peers.

The bottom line, though, is I am sure there will be a lot of legalistic explanations pointing out that the president lied under oath. His situation was not under oath. The bottom line, though, is he still lied. He lied under a different oath, and that is the oath to his wife. So it’s got to be taken very, very seriously.

I am going to struggle through this as I’m sure — I’m going to have dinner tonight with Steve Largent and Lindsey Graham. I am sure this is going to be very much a heated subject of debate.