California lawmaker denies affairs after sexual discussion becomes public

September 11, 2009

A lawmaker in California who resigned from the California Assembly Wednesday after a videotape with racy comments was leaked says that his "decision to resign is in no way an admission that [he] had an affair or affairs."

Mike Duvall (R-Orange County), who become involved in this scandal earlier this week, denied that he had any affairs with anyone, in a statement posted on his web site. Duvall said, "My offense was engaging in inappropriate storytelling and I regret my language and choice of words. The resulting media coverage was proving to be an unneeded distraction to my colleagues, and I resigned in the hope that my decision would allow them to return to the business of the state."

Earlier this week, a videotape was leaked to news outlets showing Duvall bragging about sexual escapades with multiple women to a fellow lawmaker during a legislative session. In California, committee meetings such as the one Duvall was engaged in are taped only for posterity purposes. On the tape, Duvall, 54, relates to Jeff Miller (R-Corona) a story of a recent liaison with a woman he refers to by her fondness for tiny "eye patch" underwear. "So, I've been getting into spanking her," Duvall says to Miller. "She goes, 'I know you like spanking me' [and] I said 'Yeah, that's 'cause you're such a bad girl.'"

Duvall, who is married with two adult children, did not leave a big impression on Miller, to whom the story was related. When asked for comment, Miller said, "Mike talks a lot during the hearing...I was getting ready so I wasn't really hearing what he was saying."