OPINION — Sex, scandal and politics have been an unholy trinity in America’s history since Day 1.
In 1792, for example, three members of Congress quietly investigated Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s hanky-panky with a married woman and the subsequent shakedown of $1,000 hush money — about $35,000 today — from her husband.
Satisfied the cash had come from Hamilton’s personal pocket and not public funds, the matter was discreetly dropped. A major scandal erupted when the public found out a few years later, forcing Hamilton to produce a remarkable tract where he admitted to moral failings while simultaneously lauding himself for faithfully protecting the public trough.
