This Dem Congressman Had a Years-Long Affair With an Intern. Now, His Ex-Wife Says He’s Threatening Her To Keep Quiet.

Democrats

‘He had hundreds of chances to do the right thing but he chose violence,’ Sonya Douglass says of Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford

Democratic Nevada congressman Steven Horsford / Getty Images Collin Anderson • October 31, 2022 2:00 pm

Roughly two years after Democrat Steven Horsford admitted to a years-long affair with an intern, the Nevada congressman is threatening to take legal action against his ex-wife if she discusses the ordeal publicly, she said Sunday.

“I was just minding my business until Steven and his attorney demanded I sign an NDA that would ban me from speaking about my 22-year marriage, his 10-year affair, and our divorce FOREVER,” Sonya Douglass said of Horsford in a Sunday morning tweet. “It includes $10,000 fines for each remark or social post. Even to a therapist!”

Douglass’s accusation comes as Horsford navigates a difficult reelection bid against Republican Sam Peters. Douglass said Horsford is “already blaming” a prospective loss on her and “refuses to take responsibility for his own actions.”

“He had hundreds of chances to do the right thing but he chose violence,” she added. “But I don’t respond well to bullying or intimidation so here we are.”

I was just minding my business 💅🏼 until Steven and his attorney demanded I sign an NDA that would ban me from speaking about my 22-year marriage, his 10-year affair, and our divorce FOREVER. It includes $10,000 fines for each remark or social post. Even to a therapist! Y’all! 😂

— Sonya Douglass, EdD (@drsonyadouglass) October 30, 2022

Horsford in May 2020 acknowledged that he had a years-long extramarital affair with Gabriela Linder. The pair met in 2009, when Linder was a 21-year-old intern for then-U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.). Horsford was 36 at the time. According to Linder, the affair initially lasted a year and a half before it resumed from 2017 to 2019, when Horsford joined Congress.

The 2020 revelation rocked Horsford’s campaign, particularly given that the Democrat’s political website described Horsford as a “devoted family man.” At the time, Linder said Horsford should “step out of public office for some time” to “do some atoning.” But Horsford refused to drop out of the race and went on to secure a second term in Congress, defeating Republican Jim Marchant by 5 points. Horsford is now running for a third term, a decision