Washington and Sex -- A Very Long Affair

April 29, 2007 — -- Washington is known for bills, budgets and bureaucracy -- a decidedly unsexy reputation. But they say power is an aphrodisiac, which might explain why the nation's capital has a long history of riveting sex scandals.

The latest torrid tale rocking the capital is the long client list of "D.C. Madam," Jeane Palfrey, who is facing federal charges for allegedly running a high-priced prostitution service.

ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross, who has seen the list, will have a report on "20/20" on Friday, May 4.

But Washington sex scandals have been around almost as long as Washington.

1797: Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury, was blackmailed for years over his affair with a married woman, Maria Reynolds. The blackmailer was none other than Reynolds' husband, James. Hamilton eventually revealed his indiscretions with Maria by releasing their love letters. The affair made headlines, but Hamilton's political career survived.

1831: President Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War, John Henry Eaton, was involved in an affair with Margaret "Peggy" O'Neale that became known as The Petticoat Affair. O'Neal was married to a sailor, John B. Timberlake, who committed suicide, allegedly after learning of the affair. O'Neale and Eaton were married shortly after Timberlake's death.

1884: During the 1884 presidential election, Republican candidate James G. Blaine taunted Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland with "Ma, Ma, Where's My Pa? Gone to the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha," after it was discovered that Cleveland had fathered a child with a department store clerk before he was married.

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson's chief of staff, Walter Jenkins, was arrested for having sex with a man in the bathroom at the YMCA. A local newspaper reporter working for the Washington Star discovered that Jenkins had been arrested on a similar charge in 1959 after an incident at the same YMCA toilet. Jenkins was married with six children. He was forced to resign.