The Army Reserve has launched an investigation into North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham, who is caught up in a sexting scandal with a woman who is not his wife.
Cunningham, who is a lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserve, has been accused of sending steamy messages as recently as July to Arlene Guzman Todd, a California consultant married to another soldier, the Charlotte News & Observer reported.
“The Army Reserve is investigating the matters involving Lt. Col. James Cunningham. As such, we are unable to provide further details at this time,” Army Reserve Command said in a statement.
Extramarital affairs are a violation of military code, the outlet reported.
Cunningham said he will comply with the investigation as he continues his campaign against Sen. Thom Tillis.
“Cal will participate in this process, but it does not change the stakes of this election or the need for new leaders who will fight for the issues North Carolinians care about instead of caving to the corporate special interests — which is exactly what Senator [Thom] Tillis has done in his years in Washington,” Cunningham’s campaign said in a statement, Fox News reported.
Cunningham confessed to the sexting scandal last week after messages were published on the conservative site NationalFile.com.
But more texts surfaced Tuesday that suggested Cunningham and Guzman Todd may have had a physical relationship.
Democratic US Senate candidate Cal Cunningham with his wife, Elizabeth.APIn messages to a friend, Guzman Todd described being intimate with Cunningham at home, describing the encounter as “weird,” the Associated Press reported.
Guzman Todd, who did not leak the messages, acknowledged that they had at least one sexual encounter.
“A few months back, I displayed a lapse in judgment by engaging in a relationship with Cal Cunningham during a period of marital separation,” Guzman Todd said. “The relationship spanned several months and consisted primarily of a series of text exchanges and an in-person encounter.”
Cunningham’s campaign declined to comment Tuesday on the newly disclosed messages or on Guzman Todd’s statement.
With Post wires
