Posted on 06/21/2004 9:03:27 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
CHICAGO (AP) Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan pressured his wife, actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, to have sex in clubs while others watched, she charged in custody documents related to their divorce that were released Monday.
The ``Boston Public'' and ``Star Trek: Voyager'' actress said she angered Ryan by refusing. She did acknowledge infidelity on her part, which she said took place after their marriage was irretrievably broken.
In the documents Ryan denied the allegations, saying he had been ``faithful and loyal'' to his wife.
In a news conference held after the documents were released, Ryan repeatedly refused to comment on the allegations, saying his response in the court papers spoke for itself and that he would not discuss them again.
``It's not helpful for my son or for she or me to reopen this allegations,'' Ryan said. ``I am sticking by the exact things I said five years ago.''
While Ryan has spent time in recent days attempting to shore up support among the party leadership, one Republican member of the Illinois congressional delegation called for Ryan to withdraw as a candidate.
U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, said Ryan needs to quit the campaign for the good of himself, his family and his party.
``There's no way the people of Illinois are going to countenance this behavior from a Senate candidate from the Republican Party,'' LaHood said.
Ryan said he had no plans to withdraw.
``My intention is to stay in the race,'' he said.
Earlier Monday, former Gov. Jim Edgar said he had talked to Ryan about the documents and was satisfied that they contained nothing ``monumental'' and ``we ought to move on.''
But after the documents were released, an aide said Edgar had not been given a full description of what was in the divorce files.
Ryan told the governor nothing about the allegation of visiting sex clubs and pressuring Jeri Ryan to have sex in public, said spokesman Eric Robinson. The version Ryan presented to Edgar was limited to visiting one Paris nightclub that turned out to be so ``avante garde'' that the couple felt uncomfortable and left, he said.
Robinson would not comment on whether Edgar was upset by the discrepancy or whether Ryan should step aside.
During the news conference, Ryan said the party leaders and public officials he spoke with were given all the information that was released by the judge.
U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., who is retiring and whom Ryan is hoping to replace, remained supportive of Ryan.
``Divorce cases and child custody cases are by nature acrimonious and allegations on all sides are often unreliable or sensationalized. The Jack Ryan that I know very well is a good and decent man,'' Fitzgerald said. ``He has a lifetime of achievement and accomplishment and good works and I support him and continue to support him with enthusiasm and confidence.''
Democrat Barack Obama, Ryan's opponent in the U.S. Senate race, did not return calls for comment Monday night.
Jeri Lynn Ryan charged during a custody hearing that Ryan took her on surprise trips to New Orleans, New York and Paris in 1998, and that he insisted she go to sex clubs with him on each trip.
She said that after going out to dinner with Ryan in New York, he demanded that she go to a club with him.
``It was a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling,'' she said. She said Ryan asked her to perform a sexual act while others watched, and she refused.
She said they left and Ryan apologized to her and said it was out of his system. But then, she said, he took her to Paris and again took her to a sex club.
She said she cried and became physically ill at the club, and her husband got angry with her. She said she could never get over that incident.
She also accuses him in the papers of being controlling and lying repeatedly throughout the proceedings.
``I did arrange romantic getaways for us, but that did not include the type of activity she described,'' Ryan said in the papers. ``We did go to one avant-garde nightclub in Paris which was more than either one of us felt comfortable with. We left and vowed never to return,'' he told the court.
He said he felt bad for their son that she would falsely accuse him and said she said she knew he had political aspirations.
In a statement released Monday evening, Jeri Lynn Ryan made no mention of the allegations, but said she now considered Ryan a good man and loving father.
Judge Robert Schnider of Superior Court in Los Angeles ordered Friday the unsealing of portions of the records.
The two had vigorously fought the public disclosure of the files since before Jack Ryan's win in the March 16 Republican primary. They have argued making them public would be harmful to their 9-year-old son, Alex.
The Ryans said they were ``disturbed and angered'' by the decision but decided not to appeal.
Ryan had repeatedly assured GOP leaders the files contain nothing embarrassing enough to torpedo his bid for the Senate against Obama.
Rumors about the documents' contents have been circulating since before the March 16 primary. Some of his GOP opponents raised them as an issue in that campaign, but Ryan won the primary handily.
Schnider said making the records public would prove harmful to the Ryans' son, and could prove embarrassing to the former investment banker and teacher. But he said the public deserved to know the contents
The Chicago Tribune and Chicago TV station WLS sued to have the documents released.
It's only sex. Isn't that what Clinton said ??
Given all of the hype, I expected something more explosive like wife beating, child molestation, etc.
Instead, he just turned out to be a garden variety scumbag.
In fact, he seems like a perfect fit for Illinois...
Yep. He's even more sleazy than Bubba.
Ping!
Is this a crime? Did he rape her or is he just into kinky sex?
Sexual fetishes between consenting adults does not amount to criminality.
Your typical RINO. The funny thing is if he had been a Democrat, this would have been a badge of honor for him.
This came out sometime ago in the internet rumor mill. Ryan was toast then, he is toast now, and will be toast in November.
The allegations are he pressured his wife to have sex with other men in sex clubs while he watched and presumably got off.
| Connecticut Governor Announces Resignation |
||||||
We're eliminating those who don't represent our values. I don't think too many Republicans will flock to the polls in November if Ryan's still on the ballot and most will stay home or vote for Obama in protest.
Have you seen Jeri Ryan? If I were married to her, I'd be pressuring her to have sex in the supermarket, the Burger King, the tool section at Sears...
If he were a Democrat, such accusations would bring him overwhelming support.
I really don't see what the problem is...sounds like he was into some kinky stuff and his wife wasn't, and he was unhappy about it. But he didn't "force" her to do anything.
The moral of this story is: Never vote for politican who refuses to answer tough questions in a primary.
If Ryan is still on the ballot, I will write-in Jim Oberweis.
I think the toast factor is more to do with the fact that Illinois is a Communist state, this is an open seat, and Obama is the darling of the media. This is Carol Mosley-Braun 1992 redux.
I just read this on CNN ... if this is how he treated Jeri Ryan, it sure doesn't sound too smart ... I'm sure we'll hear more in the coming days ...
First word after the (AP). Glad they cleared that up for us. Otherwise we'd have to guess (or just get used to knowing that Democrats have their party affiliation mentioned in the last half of the story).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.