Sweeney's Wife Claims Abuse

The wife of ex-Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) claims he was physically and verbally abusive to her, according to the Albany Times-Union.

Gayle Sweeney also told the paper that she made a “coerced” statement last fall to rebut a police report describing an episode of domestic abuse that surfaced just before Sweeney’s midterm loss last fall to Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

The former congressman, who filed for divorce earlier this month, denied his wife’s claims in comments to the Times-Union, saying he felt “compelled to explicitly state that I never at any time engaged in abuse and violence.

His previous wife, Betty Sweeney, also argued the lawmaker never exhibited abusive tendencies in their years of marriage.

The report Monday adds a new wrinkle to an episode that erupted last fall shortly before Gillibrand’s victory.

Days before the election, after months of hard-fought campaigning between the two candidates, the Times-Union and the New York Daily News unearthed a police report from local law enforcement officials who had responded to a call at the couple’s home during which Gayle claimed the congressman was “knocking her around.”

At the time, the congressman and his wife denied the episode ever occurred, and Gayle Sweeney called the report “a fake.”