Excerpts: Don Sherwood
But if there is an archetypal love story in Washington today, it is that of Don Sherwood and Cynthia Ore. They are the Antony and Cleopatra of Potomac Land.
Sherwood, the owner of a Pennsylvania car dealership who won election to Congress in 1998, was a righteous and devout man. A conservative Republican, he championed causes such as the "sanctity of marriage," and earned top ratings from religious organizations such as the Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition and Concerned Women for America. He has been married to the same woman for three decades and is father of three grown daughters. Approaching his 60th birthday, he attended a Young Republicans gathering in 1999 – and was smitten by a 23-year-old Peruvian immigrant by the name of Cynthia Mirella Ore.
Ore, the daughter of grocery owners, lived in an apartment complex nestled among the strip malls of Rockville, Maryland, a D.C. suburb. In Sherwood, two-and-a-half times her age, the young Peruvian beauty saw an opportunity. "When I first told my girlfriends I was dating a politician, they said, 'stay away from him,'" Ore later told the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader. "I never saw the negative. Maybe if I got with someone who I thought was a player, I'd be OK."
She was OK, for a while. Her congressman-boyfriend, she said, helped her land an internship with another congressman who worked down the hall from him. Sherwood also tried to get her a White House internship, Ore said. The young woman drove a Porsche.
Young Cynthia admired Don's "pink, rosy skin," and "those big glasses" melted her heart. She liked him because, while "guys in DC are players" who drive expensive cars, Don drove a truck. "We went to movies, dinners," she reported later. "He is very charming, very gentleman. The wine and roses—that got me… With Don, it was exclusive. He always said, 'you're my number one.' He got on his knees many times just to kiss my hand. He called me his angel."
Later, when the fairy tale reached its inevitable end, she lamented: "We had such a good chemistry. I miss the touchiness and the passion."
Ah, but the touchiness was just beginning.
Early on the afternoon of Sept. 15, 2004, Cynthia paid a visit to Don at his pad, apartment 215 at 110 D Street Southeast, in a complex called "Hill House" that provides shelter for many members of Congress when the legislature is in session. Sherwood was angry that she was late, Ore later recounted. He became more angry when she asked to visit his hometown and his house in Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Sherwood happened to be living.
"He pushed my forehead down on the futon and started pounding on me," she reported. "He grabbed my throat… I screamed and wiggled away." She locked herself in the bathroom, turned on the shower to mask the sound, and called 911 on her cell phone.
Police arriving on the scene were perplexed. Ore, the officers wrote in a police report, "did not seem to be of sound mind" and shifted her account. Sherwood explained that he was merely giving Ore a "backrub" when she suddenly "jumped up" and ran to the bathroom. Both Cynthia and Don "left out significant information or are not willing to discuss in detail what actually happened." At any rate, police said they found "no probable cause to make an arrest."
A few weeks later, President Bush was traveling near Sherwood's district in Pennsylvania. The congressman joined Bush on stage and heard him pledge to "always stand firm to protect the sanctity of marriage." The speech included nothing about backrubs.
But while the congressman was busily protecting the sanctity of marriage, the police report leaked to his hometown papers. Sherwood, in response, dismissed Ore as "a casual acquaintance" while, somewhat inconsistently, apologizing "for the pain and embarrassment I have caused my family and my supporters."
The "casual acquaintance" slur only inflamed Ore. On June 15, 2005, she filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court seeking $5.5 million from her legislator-lover. In the soap-operatic legal filing, plaintiff Cynthia Mirella Ore said that, after meeting Defendant Sherwood in 1999, they soon "formed a close romantic and intimate personal relationship which continued for approximately five years." For much of this time, the complaint charged, "the plaintiff was cohabitating with Defendant Sherwood at his place of residence." Here, Ore helpfully provided the congressman's address and apartment number.
"Throughout this long-term relationship," it continued, "Defendant Sherwood repeatedly and violently physically assaulted and abused plaintiff. These assaults and abuses included, but were not limited to, defendant sherwood repeatedly striking plaintiff on her face, neck, chest, and back, violently yanking on plaintiff's hair, and repeatedly choking and attempting to strangle plaintiff by placing his hands around her neck."
Ore now said Sherwood had beaten her repeatedly. "Following each unprovoked and vicious attack, Defendant Sherwood reaffirmed his romantic intentions and promised the plaintiff that he would not assault her in the future and pleaded for her to remain in the relationship." So why did the mistress keep coming back? "Plaintiff remained in the intimate relationship with the defendant's repeated promises to marry plaintiff and start a family."
Sherwood was accused of inflicting a grisly list of injuries: "facial lacerations, bruises about the head, neck and other portions of her body, head injury, injuries to her teeth, mouth and gums, back and neck strain, injuries to her scalp." Now, she alleged, the man with the pink and rosy skin made her fear for her life.
Cynthia accused Don of two specific assaults: a June 24, 2004 incident in which the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania punched and tried "violently choking" her while "plaintiff was laying on the defendant's bed, attempting to sleep." She also detailed the September 15 episode, in which the representative of the 10th District allegedly "violently struck the plaintiff on her face, neck, chest and back with a closed fist (and) repeatedly attempted to choke and/or strangle the plaintiff by grabbing her neck with his hands and squeezing tightly."
Whatever happened on September 15, Sherwood now sounded as if he were ready to choke and/or strangle somebody. "I will defend myself to the fullest extent possible agaisnt these malicious and baseless allegations, which in large part have been fully investigated and rejected by law enforcement officials," read his statement.
Sherwood seemed to be referring to the police view that his mistress wasn't "of sound mind." But the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, which pounced on the story from the start while other outlets in the area ignored it, dug in further. They found a D.C. police officer who took photos of Ore's injuries later on September 15 and told the paper Sherwood should have been arrested. The paper also reported that there were "smudges on a police report that suggest the incident number had been changed" and found that the time on the police report was two hours before the 911 call was logged.
Also, Ore had compiled an extensive collection of her medical and dental records. The files, which she shared with the Washington Post, appeared to support her claims of injury.
Sherwood, who had by now hired a lawyer and a media consultant, had the case moved to federal court and tried to get the trial postponed until after Election Day in 2006. Meanwhile, his denials grew less vehement with each version. First, the charge was "absolutely not true" and came from a "casual acquaintance." Next came his move-it-along statement: "I'm truly sorry. Now, I have work to do."
Finally, in a July court filing responding to Ore, Sherwood admitted the relationship. "For about five years, I had an affair I deeply regret. Although it was intermittent and ended last year, nothing I say can diminisht he pain and hurt I have caused my wife and family. . . At the same time, I want to be absolutely clear that I never physically hurt or abused Ms. Ore. I will defend myself to the fullest extent possible asgainst these malicious and baseless allegations."
By September, Sherwood was rethinking the part about defending himself to "the fullest extent possible." Seeking a confidentiality order, his lawyer said that because of his "status as a United States congressman, release of his mobile telephone records may raise unique security issues."
In November, Don and Cynthia announced that they'd reached a settlement – part of which called for them to keep mum about the details. The legal dispute thus ended, it was time for the final stage of any Washington love affair: the spin. It was still a year before Sherwood's election – plenty of time for a good politician to recover.
Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, dedicated to "respect for family integrity" and "public and private virtue," awarded Sherwood a 73 percent rating in 2005, up from 69 percent in 2004. Three weeks before the election, President Bush flew to Sherwood's home district to eat ice cream with Sherwood and tell his supporters at a fundraiser: "I'm pleased to be here with Don Sherwood. . . He has got a record of accomplishment." The president, who had earlier proclaimed the week to be "National Character Counts Week," ommitted the usual references to family values.
The voters were somewhat less forgiving. After Sherwood's Democratic opponent in 2006 ran an ad about the affair and the allegations of violence, Sherwood issued his own ad denying the abuse allegations again and asking forgiveness. "While I'm truly sorry for disappointing you, I never wavered from my commitment to reduce taxes, create jobs and bring home our fair share," the congressman said. He lost by a wide margin.
Copyright 2007-2008 by Dana Milbank