A US lawmaker from Pennsylvania admitted to having an extramarital affair on Wednesday after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sued to have a divorce action unsealed.
Republican Congressman Tim Murphy is not a party in the case, but he was sought to give a deposition in the divorce proceedings concerning the husband Jesse Sally, a sports medicine physician, and Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist.
The lawyer representing Dr. Sally, Dorothy Wolbert, said the deposition was relevant as Edwards is seeking alimony in the case.
US Congressman Tim Murphy from Pennsylvania admits to having extramarital affair with ‘close friend’
Murphy admitted to having a liaison with 32-year-old Shannon Edwards (pictured left) which began in 2016
‘He has the right to know what went on with this marital misconduct,’ said Wolbert, who presented the argument before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kathryn Hens-Greco.
But Kenneth J. Horoho Jr., who represents Murphy, claimed his client had already made the affair publicly known, and argued that any further testimony would be unnecessary.
Murphy’s wife, Nanette Missig (pictured), are still married and have an adult daughter
‘Why do you need to depose him other than to harass him?’ he asked. ‘They got the marital misconduct. They admit it.’
Horoho Jr. added: ‘At some point, your honor, it does rise to the level of harassment and bad faith.’
But the judge disagreed, and ordered the Upper St. Clair politician to offer his sworn statements to Sally’s attorney by September 29.
Judge Hens-Greco also said the lawmaker must provide the court with all text and email communications between himself and Edwards.
Following the ruling, Murphy, 64, admitted to the infidelity in a press statement.
‘Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend. This is nobody’s fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me.
‘I ask the media to respect the privacy of my family. They have done nothing wrong and deserve to be left alone,’ the statement added.
The Pennsylvania politician has served eight-terms in congress, is married and has an adult daughter. Edwards, 32, is a practicing psychologist and performs evaluations of defendants for the Allegheny County court system.
Dr. Jesse Sally (pictured) believes that the affair led to the ultimate destruction of his marriage to Edwards
The two met while Edwards volunteered to contribute to a mental health bill that was signed into law in December.
Edwards maintains that she did not begin to have a intimate relationship with Murphy until her marriage had fallen apart.
‘We had a collegial and friend relationship before anything else,’ Edwards told the court.
Sally, however, claims that his marriage was destroyed by the affair, and filings showed that he knew Edwards was having an affair with ‘a well-known political figure in the community.’
Sally, who married Edwards on July 28, 2012, said he believed the affair began in February 2016.
Murphy said that his relationship with Edwards ended last year.