The People Who Benefit From Scandals
By ABBY PHILLIP
Updated 8:29 AM PST, Sun, Jul 12, 2009
Political sex scandals can bring down careers and ruin reputations — but there's always someone who wins in the end. In many cases, former staffers, ex-lovers and turncoat friends have not only come away from a scandal with higher profiles and fatter wallets. Be it through book deals, contracts, pay-offs, or lawsuits, the hangers-on find ways to cash in.
Doug Hampton
Hampton had been working Sen. John Ensign to get as much out of this scandal as possible before it broke in the national media last month. So far, he and his wife, Cynthia Hampton - both formerly close with the senator - have been given $96,000 worth of "gifts" from Ensign's parents. Both Hamptons and their son, Brandon Hampton, were on Ensign's and the National Republican Senatorial Committee's payroll while the affair was going on. Cynthia Hampton's salary reportedly doubled during that time, as well, though Ensign's camp says she also took on additional duties.
Johnston, the 19-year-old father of Bristol Palin's baby, took to the national stage to air grievances against the Palins soon after the November 2008 election. On "The Tyra Banks Show," he claimed that the Palins were keeping him away from his baby boy - and said that he and Bristol had practiced safe sex "most of the time." Weeks later, he graced the pages of GQ magazine with his young son, all the while continuing his media sprint by appearing on "Larry King Live" and "Good Morning America." Johnston, who is pursuing modeling contracts and a book deal, invited reporters to a meeting on Thursday to explain his theory for the Alaska governor's recent resignation: greed.
Linda Tripp
Tripps's taped phone calls with Monica Lewinsky were the centerpiece of the case against President Clinton. Her 15 minutes of fame were spent being prominently featured in articles and on cable news shows — for more than a year. In 2003, she pocketed a $595,000 settlement from the U.S. government, which had leaked details from her security file to the media during the course of the Clinton investigation. That same year she appeared on "Larry King Live," sporting a major makeover, to discuss her battle with breast cancer and to revisit her role in the Lewinsky scandal.
The former aide who initially took the fall for John Edwards's philandering is now alleging victimization at the hands of the media and the Edwards family. Young, who says he was paid to take in a pregnant Rielle Hunter, is now at odds with the Edwards family and plans to air his grievances in a tell-all book that he is peddling to publishers.
Ashley Alexandra Dupre
After this call-girl was caught with former governor Eliot Spitzer, she shared her thoughts on "20/20" - and now has a record contract and rumors of television show in the works. In the weeks after The New York Times revealed her name to the public, she is expected to have made thousands from a downloadable song. Both Hustler and Penthouse have offered her as much as $1 million to pose for their publications.
Davis — known as the Manhattan Madam — has illustrated her entrepreneurship and written an exposé that shares secrets about her high priced Manhattan prostitution ring. The website promises plenty of dish: "Find out the dirty secrets of Kristin's celebrity, politician, and Wall Street clients. You'll be shocked and amazed by who used her services, and what they requested!" The book is available only on-line through her website, http://www.manhattanmadam.com/books , is available for $9.99 in electronic form or $12.99 in paperback.
Copyright Politico
First Published: Jul 11, 2009 7:30 PM PST
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