Kyrsten Sinema says in court filings she had a ‘romantic’ relationship with guard | Kyrsten Sinema

Former US senator Kyrsten Sinema admitted in court filings that she had a “romantic and intimate” relationship with a married man who was part of her security team during her last year in office, but argued that her estranged wife should not be able to sue her over the matter.

The acknowledgment of the multi-state relationship came in response to a lawsuit filed by Heather Ammel, who accused the former Arizona senator in federal court of ending her marriage under North Carolina’s so-called “homewrecker” law.

In court documents filed March 12, Sinema asked a federal judge to dismiss the case and said in affidavits that she has no connection to North Carolina, where her bodyguard, Matthew Joseph Ammel, lives with his wife and children. He stated that he had been in “physical proximity” with Ammel in four states as well as Washington, D.C., but not once in North Carolina.

Additionally, Sinema says “100%” of her phone calls and email communications with Ammel between early 2023 and Nov. 1, 2024, occurred while Ammel was out of North Carolina and were largely related to her work, which includes frequent travel as part of the Senate security team.

He states that he was unaware that Ammel was living with his family in North Carolina until December 2023, more than a year after he began working security for him. Sinema also maintained that, as part of her security detail, she had no knowledge of Ammel’s “day-to-day” whereabouts unless it was travel-related.

As part of the application, Sinema detailed a half-dozen encounters in Sonoma, Calif., that she said were “physically intimate” with Ammel, starting in late May 2024. He stated that they had additional matches in New York; Washington DC; Aspen, Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona.

According to Heather’s lawsuit, she had a “good and loving marriage” with her husband before Cinema intervened. She accused Sinema of pursuing Matthew even though she knew he was married.

Heather claimed she discovered “romantic and sensual” messages exchanged between her husband and Sinema, including a photo of the then-senator wrapped in a towel.

In the lawsuit, Heather alleged Sinema paid for psychedelic treatment for Matthew, a U.S. army veteran who struggled with post-traumatic stress, substance abuse and traumatic brain injuries related to his military duties.

Sinema denies sending a photo of herself “wrapped in a towel” and says she “doesn’t remember” sending Matthew “any message” suggesting he bring MDMA drugs on his business trip so she could “guide him through a psychedelic experience.”

Matthew received nearly $9,000 from Sinema’s former campaign committee in October, according to news outlet Notus, which cited the Federal Election Commission (FEC). documents. Other unusual campaign expenses include hotels in Saudi Arabia, wine and “gifts” from Taylor Swift’s official gift shop.

Sinema’s denial petition states that she joined the Ammel family with her three children at a Taylor Swift concert in Miami just days before the couple officially split. The Ammel family stayed in different hotel rooms throughout the trip.

North Carolina is one of the few U.S. states where spouses can sue a third party (often “paramor”) for alienation of affection resulting from an affair. However, Sinema says Heather’s lawsuit against him should be dropped because the relationship at the center of the case took place outside North Carolina.

The case brought renewed attention to cinema; The Democrat served one term in the Senate and became an independent after flipping his seat in 2018 in a politically competitive state. He emerged as a key bipartisan dealmaker, but he infuriated his Democratic colleagues by blocking some key legislative priorities when their party held the White House during Joe Biden’s presidency.

Since leaving the Senate, Sinema continues to attract attention for her work on issues such as cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence as a senior advisor at law and lobbying firm Hogan Lovells.

He also openly advocated for psychedelic medicine and was outspoken about his experience receiving ibogaine treatment to prevent dementia.

Strengthening its turn to the right, the Washington Reporter recently announced that Sinema will join the conservative news channel as a columnist, offering “an inside look at some of the most important policy debates.”