Pietro “Pete” Domenici, the well-regarded New Mexico Republican who spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate, stunned many observers this week when he admitted to fathering a child outside his marriage more than 30 years ago with the daughter of his former Senate colleague Paul Laxalt.
Domenici, now 80, retired from the Senate at the end of 2009 after finishing his sixth term—a move he said in 2007 he was planning to make as a result of his suffering from a degenerative brain disease. Though it took some by surprise, Domenici’s announcement that he was leaving office pales next to the bombshell he shared with the Albuquerque Journal this week.
