6 U.S. Political Spouses Who Have Served Jail Time

Politics is a hotbed for scandalous affairs and rumors. Not even presidents are above the law — Ulysses S. Grant was arrested while in office in 1872 for speeding with his horse and buggy. Donald Trump has faced quite a few legal troubles of his own, including being found guilty of 34 felony counts in 2024. And he isn't the only politician to land himself in hot water.

While Grant didn't serve jail time after his arrest and Trump hasn't either (as of this writing), some notable politicians have. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison back in 2013 after being convicted for two dozen crimes, including fraud and extortion; he served seven years before Trump commuted his sentence in 2021 at the tail end of his first presidential term.

With plenty of politicians who have been arrested and charged, it should come as no surprise that these individuals often attract spouses of the same caliber. Needless to say, these politicians have certainly found their (literal) partner in crime, and some of them have spent time behind bars.

Sandi Jackson and her husband, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., were found guilty in August 2013 in a federal tax fraud case involving campaign funds. During her husband's campaign, both Sandi and Jesse failed to report over $600,000 and misused funds for their luxurious life. Both Sandi and Jesse were elected officials in government. Jesse had resigned as a congressman the previous year, while Sandi resigned as a Chicago alderman a few months before being found guilty. After laundering the funds, the Jacksons wasted no time, and — with seemingly no fear of getting caught — spent the hundreds of thousands of stolen dollars on the most outrageous purchases.

Living up to the expected lifestyle of the rich and the famous, the Jacksons bought expensive flaunting of their illegal bonuses. According to CBS News, among the couple's purchases were memorabilia autographed by stars like Michael Jackson, Eddie Van Halen, and Bruce Lee, two stuffed elk heads, a $43,500 Rolex, fur coats and capes, and — of course — vacations to Disney World. He and his wife pleaded guilty in court and were sentenced to staggered prison time in addition to repaying the total $750,000.

Maureen McDonnell is the wife of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, with whom she conspired in an elaborate scheme of bribes to promote the products of Star Scientific. Acting almost as marketing consultants rather than government officials, the McDonnells hosted parties with Star Scientific execs and university heads to hopefully connect the two industries for scientific research. The McDonnells also contacted multiple Virginia government officials to promote the products of Star Scientific. For their efforts in furthering the work of the development company, the political couple was gifted over $170,000 in gifts and bribes.

This criminal activity was carried out from April 2011 to March 2013, when the couple was caught. Maureen McDonnell tried to minimize the actions she took in disrespecting her position and defrauding the Virginian public by claiming she had already undergone punishment through her public reputation being shattered (a consequence of her own actions). She pleaded, "I would ask you consider the punishment I already received" (via X). Following the trial, Maureen was sentenced to merely a year and one day in prison for her involvement in the crime.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers' wife, Monica, was also an elected official. A Detroit city councilwoman, Monica had transitioned from her position as a teacher to the public servant role; however, her dedication to her constituents was short-lived as the elected official turned to illicit acts while wielding power. In 2010, Conyers was charged with conspiracy and bribery when it was discovered that she had accepted money in exchange for her vote on an over $1 billion sludge-hauling deal. 

She pleaded guilty to the charges, convicted by testimony from her own staff that revealed a history of bribes and political power abuse. Despite having signed a plea agreement, Monica tried to withdraw her guilty plea. She was unsuccessful and ended up being sentenced to 37 months in prison. After her release, she ran for a Wayne County Executive position in 2022 despite being banned from public office due to her record.

Nadine Menendez and her now ex-husband, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, were involved in a bribery scheme on the international level between 2018 and 2022. At the time he entered into a large-scale scheme with the Egyptian officials, Robert was the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. First introduced to Wael Hana (who would later become the couple's connection to the Egyptian government) by his wife, both Menendezes soon fell into a pattern of paid favors for Hana and his connections in Egypt. 

By the time the FBI became aware of the bribes and started their investigation, the Menendezes had already accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of bribes, including gold, cash, a convertible, mortgage payments, home furnishings, and more. When the couple was taken to court, not only was their relationship tested, but the pair fully turned on one another. Nadine was quick to separate herself from the actions of her husband, saying, "He was one of the most powerful men in the most powerful country on earth and there was no way he'd lead me astray or lead me to do anything illegal, or so I thought" (via BBC). 

Despite her efforts to define her actions as those of a "puppet," the jury still found her guilty of her role. Nadine has only recently been sentenced for her involvement in the crime, being sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. Robert was also sentenced to time, 11 years in prison.

Rep. Cori Bush's husband, Cortney Merritts, abused one of the government's COVID programs, gifting himself over $20,000 offered from the U.S. as a loan. Merritts' scheme was simple; twice during the pandemic, he filed an application for the government's small business assistance program that offered financial support to business owners who were struggling to remain open during quarantine. Merritts applied twice and was awarded the loan twice, in 2020 and 2021. Though he was in fact a business owner, Merritts lied about his number of employees and submitted two identical applications to the program in order to receive additional gain.

This raised a red flag in officials' minds, which led to Merritts' arrest in 2025 and being charged with two counts of wire fraud. Merritt is one of many who have conducted what is considered "pandemic relief fraud" — more than 350,000 people have been charged with this crime. However, Merritt's charges came as his wife was also being investigated by the Department of Justice for campaign expenditures involving her security guard (aka Courtney Merritt).

Former Iowa state Rep.Jeremy Taylor found himself at the center of a fraud case that had his name written all over it when his wife, Kim Phuong Taylor, was charged with 52 counts of voter fraud in an attempt to ensure her husband's nomination. Kim collected mail-in voter ballots that were yet to be collected by homeowners and filled them out herself, forging signatures and lying about her identity. Kim specifically targeted homes in a Vietnamese community in her county. By the time the election ended, Kim had submitted a total of 23 fraudulent votes.

It wasn't until three years later that Kim was arrested and charged with 26 counts of providing false information to vote and 23 counts of fraudulent voting. The result of her illicit, secret acts? Her husband lost the election. He ran for the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors following his 2020 loss and won, but eventually had to step down from the role in 2023 due to his wife's illegal actions. Though he is not tied to the case legally, he has sworn not to run for any elected seats following his wife's sentencing.