This summer, President Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Iraq, Brett McGurk—seemingly popular on a bipartisan basis—became the latest public figure to be brought low when inappropriate e-mails leaked. The e-mails from 2008 show McGurk, then a married Bush-administration appointee working in Baghdad on Iraq security negotiations, exchanging sometimes racy messages with Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon, whom he later married after a divorce.
Sent over several months and leaked online in June while his nomination was before the Senate, the e-mails contain explicit sexual references and show McGurk teasing Chon with hints of inappropriate leaks and access—as well as some simply embarrassing revelations such as the two calling reporters vultures. “If treated to many glasses of wine—you could be the chosen vultures,” McGurk wrote at one point.
After the e-mails became public, Chon resigned from the Journal and McGurk withdrew his nomination.
How many more scandals will it take before people realize that e-mail lasts forever? Here are some of the major gaffes of the digital age.
2001
They are voting on the project today!! Can you smell money?!?!?!
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff
To an informal business partner, referring to Native American owners of a casino Abramoff went on to bill for $14 million
2003
how my favorite young stud doing
Representative Mark Foley
Instant message to a congressional page
2007
boy that Timberwolf was one shitty deal
Goldman Sachs banker
E-mail about a client deal he was selling; the message was used by Senator Carl Levin to attack the bank’s behavior during the financial crisis
2009
This deal is NOT ready for prime time.
White House budget analyst
E-mail sent nine days before the Obama administration announced a $535-million loan to the now-bankrupt energy company Solyndra
2010 i hear liberal girls are very, uh, accommodating of others
Representative Anthony Weiner
Alleged Facebook message to a Las Vegas blackjack dealer
2012
We gonna pawty like iz yo birfday!
Wife of General Services Administration regional commissioner Jeff Neely
Writing about their taxpayer-funded island-hopping trip through the Pacific
This article appears in the September 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.
Hit Delete All You Want . . .
It won’t do any good. The road to hell—or at least a good old Washington scandal—is paved with reckless e-mails.
This summer, President Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Iraq, Brett McGurk—seemingly popular on a bipartisan basis—became the latest public figure to be brought low when inappropriate e-mails leaked. The e-mails from 2008 show McGurk, then a married Bush-administration appointee working in Baghdad on Iraq security negotiations, exchanging sometimes racy messages with Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon, whom he later married after a divorce.
Sent over several months and leaked online in June while his nomination was before the Senate, the e-mails contain explicit sexual references and show McGurk teasing Chon with hints of inappropriate leaks and access—as well as some simply embarrassing revelations such as the two calling reporters vultures. “If treated to many glasses of wine—you could be the chosen vultures,” McGurk wrote at one point.
After the e-mails became public, Chon resigned from the Journal and McGurk withdrew his nomination.
How many more scandals will it take before people realize that e-mail lasts forever? Here are some of the major gaffes of the digital age.
2001
They are voting on the project today!! Can you smell money?!?!?!
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff
To an informal business partner, referring to Native American owners of a casino Abramoff went on to bill for $14 million
2003
how my favorite young stud doing
Representative Mark Foley
Instant message to a congressional page
2007
boy that Timberwolf was one shitty deal
Goldman Sachs banker
E-mail about a client deal he was selling; the message was used by Senator Carl Levin to attack the bank’s behavior during the financial crisis
2009
This deal is NOT ready for prime time.
White House budget analyst
E-mail sent nine days before the Obama administration announced a $535-million loan to the now-bankrupt energy company Solyndra
2010
i hear liberal girls are very, uh, accommodating of others
Representative Anthony Weiner
Alleged Facebook message to a Las Vegas blackjack dealer
2012
We gonna pawty like iz yo birfday!
Wife of General Services Administration regional commissioner Jeff Neely
Writing about their taxpayer-funded island-hopping trip through the Pacific
This article appears in the September 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Rock Creek Isn’t Safe to Swim In. RFK Jr. Did It Anyway.
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2025
Meet the Duck Whisperer of DC
Humorless Scolds Fret About Trump’s Free Plane From Qatar, RFK Jr. Swam in Rock Creek, and We’ve Got 20 New Restaurants for You to Get Excited About
The Devastating Story of Washington’s Peeping-Tom Rabbi
Washingtonian Magazine
May Issue: 52 Perfect Saturdays
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
DC Might Be Getting a Watergate Museum
DC-Area Universities Are Offering Trump Classes This Fall
Viral DC-Area Food Truck Flavor Hive Has It in the Bag
Slugging Makes a Comeback for DC Area Commuters
More from News & Politics
Are the Pandas Truly Ready to Enter the DC Dating Scene? A Washingtonian Analysis.
Pardoned January 6 Rioter Arrested for Breaking and Entering in Virginia
The Pandas Are Flirting, Trump Demands Investigation Into Springsteen, and We Found the Best Bar Snack in Clarendon
A Vending Machine for DC Books Has Arrived in Western Market
A Non-Speaking Autistic Artist’s Paintings Are Getting a DC Gallery Show
Kristi Noem Wants a New Plane and a Reality Show, Kennedy Center Staff Plans to Unionize, and Trump’s Birthday Parade Could Cost $45 Million
Ed Martin Asks Judge to Investigate Lawyer Investigating Him, RFK Jr. Couldn’t Identify Office Named for His Aunt, and We Found Some Terrific Dominican Food
Federal Agents Arrest 189 in DC Immigration Crackdown