Politics

SULLIVANS ISLAND, S.C. (AP) ― A 41-year-old Argentine former reporter acknowledged having a relationship with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, saying Sunday that widely published e-mail correspondence between the two was obtained from her account without permission.

In a brief statement sent to news network C5n of Buenos Aires, Maria Belen Chapur said she will not talk about her private life, which has already been the focus of intense media scrutiny in the United States and Argentina.

"I have decided to send this statement to clear up certain incorrect things that are being reported and put an end to a matter that, as you imagine, is very painful to me, my two children, my entire family and close friends."

Chapur said someone accessed her Hotmail account without permission late last year and leaked e-mail correspondence that described a relationship with Sanford to the South Carolina newspaper The State.

But she denied the "hacker" is a friend of hers — as has been widely reported here — saying he is as much a victim of the media frenzy as she.

"I have a strong suspicion of who is responsible for this evil act that was directed at me but also destroyed the lives of so many others," Chapur said. "But without sufficient proof, and for legal reasons, I am obligated to not reveal the name.

"It is not for me to judge anyone. I leave it all in the hands of God," she concluded.

The statement was addressed to C5n anchor Eduardo Feinman, who read it on camera. Feinman was Chapur's editor when she worked briefly as a television reporter in 2001.

It was widely reported that Chapur was Sanford's mistress after the governor admitted to the relationship following a secret trip to Argentina earlier this month.

But he did not identify Chapur.

Reporters staked out Chapur's building in an upper-class neighborhood in the Argentine capital for days trying to locate her, and pressed for information from neighbors and the owner of a bar she reportedly visited with Sanford.

People who know Chapur describe her as an elegant, well-mannered, soft-spoken woman who speaks several languages. She is a graduate in political science from the Catholic University of Buenos Aires and the divorced mother of two sons.

Heber Alvarez, a doorman at her building, said she often rises early for morning jogs through the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Sanford told the Associated Press in an exclusive interview earlier Sunday that he had considered resigning from office after the extramarital affair came to light.

But Sanford, who hasn't spoken publicly since Friday, said he spoke with close spiritual and political associates who advised the Republican to fight to restore the public's -- and his family's -- trust in him.

"Resigning would be the easiest thing to do," he said.

Sanford spoke outside his coastal home on Sullivans Island. Wearing frayed khaki shorts and a t-shirt, he talked about "walking into the legislative term with a humble spirit."

"I have to go through that voyage over the next 18 months," he said, alluding to the number of months he has left in his second term. He is barred by state law from seeking a third and, at one time, had been rumored as a potential presidential contender in 2012.

Now, Sanford says he wants to repair the frayed trust in him and continue to serve the people of South Carolina.

The governor admitted last week to a yearlong affair with a woman in Argentina. He and his wife say they will try to reconcile. Some lawmakers are calling for him to resign because he used public money to see the mistress during one trip, and because he was out of touch with his staff during his recent weeklong tryst.

Sanford repeatedly said he did not use public money for the trip, so it was not clear why he has agreed to reimburse the state for some of the more-than $8,000 in taxpayer money spent on the Argentina leg of an economic development trip to South America last year.

When it comes to his critics -- most notably state Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia -- and their calls for him to step down, Sanford said he understands where they are coming from.

"I don't begrudge the Jakie Knottses of the world," Sanford said. "He's going to do what he's going to do. I gotta do my part."

As far as his wife, Sanford said they are working on their relationship.

"If there wasn't healing going on, I wouldn't be here," he said, pointing to his beach house, where he had dinner with his family Saturday night and where he took a run at sunrise on the sand with one of his sons.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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