(NY Daily News) Montana Sen. Max Baucus nominated own mistress, Melodee Hanes, as U.S. attorney
Sen. Max Baucus was having an extramarital affair with a woman he nominated to be U.S. attorney in Montana, the senator's spokesman admitted Friday night.
The Montana Democrat nominated Melodee Hanes, who was Baucus' state office director, and three others to the post in March, spokesman Tyler Matsdorf said. The two began having an affair in the summer of 2008, Matsdorf said.
He said the senator was separated from his wife when he gave Hanes' name to the White House. Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and his wife have since split.
"Sen. Baucus is currently in a mature and happy relationship with Melodee Hanes. They are both divorced, and in no way was their relationship the cause of their respective divorces," said Matsdorf.
Hanes later removed her name from nomination and took a job in the Justice Department.
(MSNBC) Aide: Baucus nominated girlfriend for Fed Post
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was already involved with his girlfriend and former staffer when he recommended her earlier this year to become the next U.S. attorney for Montana, a spokesman said.
The Montana Democrat and his former state office director Melodee Hanes began their relationship in the summer of 2008, after Baucus separated from his wife, Ty Matsdorf told The Associated Press late Friday.
Baucus nominated Hanes for the U.S. attorney post in Montana in March. But she later withdrew, saying she had been presented with other opportunities she couldn't pass up.
The Senate leader who's been a major proponent of Democratic health care legislation had submitted six names to a third-party reviewer, who whittled those to Hanes and two others. Matsdorf said the senator sent the three names to the White House with no ranking.
"Senator Baucus recommended each of the three candidates based solely on qualifications, and merit, knowing whichever one the White House selected would serve Montana well," Matsdorf said.
The spokesman said Baucus and Hanes decided during the nomination process that she should withdraw her name because the couple wanted to live together in Washington, which they later did.
Reason for disclosure?
Matsdorf declined to say why the senator was just now disclosing the circumstances surrounding the nomination, which was first reported in Roll Call, an online publication that covers Washington politics.
Baucus and his ex-wife Wanda announced last April that they planned to divorce after 25 years of marriage. In a joint statement, they said they have "parted ways amicably and with mutual respect."
Before the April announcement, Baucus said the couple had some "differences" in the marriage, which was his second.
Hanes started working for Baucus in 2002 and was his state director before leaving his office earlier this year for a position in the U.S. Department of Justice.
"Mel is supremely qualified and she got to her current position based solely on her merit," Matsdorf said.
President Barack Obama eventually nominated Helena attorney Michael Cotter for U.S. attorney, who supervises prosecutors of all federal crimes committed in Montana and the state's seven Indian reservations. Cotter is awaiting confirmation.
Baucus was elected to the Montana House in 1973 and to the U.S. House in 1974 and 1976. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978 at age 36, and is up for re-election in 2014.
The senator has played increasingly visible roles in Congress, sometimes willing to buck his Democratic Party on certain issues. He seems to take the position that the state that sent him to the Senate for five terms is fundamentally conservative and its voters want someone willing to base votes on more than party lines.
At the center of health reform effort
Most recently Baucus has been at the center of an effort to move sweeping health care legislation through the Senate with a bill aimed at meeting Obama's goal of overhauling the nation's health care system to cover 48 million uninsured Americans.
Just on Friday, Baucus went against his party and backed a Republican effort to eliminate a long-term care insurance program to help seniors and the disabled. Republicans argued that the new plan would be a drain on the federal budget.
The Democrat has also been in the middle of other congressional battles: He played a key role in 2003 legislation adding a prescription-drug benefit to the Medicare program and enactment of President George W. Bush's tax cuts in 2001.
Baucus also has secured millions in federal funding for highways and billions in disaster aid for drought-plagued farmers and ranchers.
(Billing Gazette) County Prosecutor joins Baucus bid
Deputy County Attorney Melodee Hanes will be leaving her job to work for Sen. Max Baucus' re-election campaign.
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Sources: NY Daily News, MSNBC, Billing Gazette, Daily World Buzz, Google Maps
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