Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the Democrat turned independent who served one term before leaving office last year, was accused in federal court this week of conducting an affair with a member of her Senate security team, a married father of three.
In a complaint filed in North Carolina, the ex-wife of Matthew Ammel, who worked on Ms. Sinema’s staff for two years, accused the former senator of seducing him and breaking up their marriage.
Heather Ammel claimed in her suit that Ms. Sinema sent Mr. Ammel sexually suggestive photographs on Signal, the encrypted messaging app; chose him to accompany her on trips to Napa Valley and to the Sphere, an events venue, in Las Vegas; paid for him to enter psychedelic treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues; encouraged him to bring drugs on work trips so she could guide him through a psychedelic trip; showered him with gifts and concert tickets; and eventually entered into a sexual relationship with him that caused him to leave his family.
A spokeswoman and a lawyer for Ms. Sinema did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. Ammel could not be reached for comment.
Ms. Ammel is seeking more than $25,000 from Ms. Sinema, claiming she intentionally and maliciously broke up her marriage through “willful and wanton conduct.”
Ms. Ammel’s suit was originally filed in September in state court in North Carolina, where a person can sue for “alienation of affection” and demand damages. This week, Ms. Sinema’s attorney asked that the suit be moved to federal court.
During her single term in the Senate, Ms. Sinema alienated Democratic voters in her state, as well many of her colleagues, who viewed her as the most significant impediment to Democratic priorities, such as closing the so-called carried interest loophole and overturning the filibuster. She defended her position on maintaining the filibuster as one that encouraged compromise over partisan politics.
Ms. Ammel’s lawsuit paints a picture of a lawmaker who sought an inappropriate personal relationship with someone who depended on her for a job, and who spoke dismissively of aspects of her role on Capitol Hill.
The Ammels were married in 2010, according to the suit, and enjoyed an “active, generous and fulfilling sexual relationship” until Ms. Sinema entered the picture. They had three children together.
Ms. Ammel said that they had a “good and loving marriage” despite Mr. Ammel, a veteran, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, and struggling with substance abuse — all associated with his time in the military.
After retiring from the Army in 2022, Mr. Ammel joined Ms. Sinema’s staff as part of her security team. When his superior left the office in the fall of 2023, Ms. Ammel said the superior also encouraged her husband to leave, according to the suit.
Mr. Ammel chose to stay in his position because it offered financial security, the suit stated, and soon found himself traveling with Ms. Sinema on trips, including one alone with her to Napa Valley, and one to see the band U2 perform at the Sphere. She also took him as a guest to a Taylor Swift concert, the suit said.
Ms. Ammel claimed that at a March 2024 event in Phoenix, Ms. Sinema got “handsy” with Mr. Ammel, who later confessed that he did not know how to extricate himself from the situation without offending his boss, she said.
It was on a subsequent work trip to San Francisco, according to the suit, that Ms. Sinema invited Mr. Ammel to her hotel room, where the two stayed together alone for hours. They later stayed at her Washington apartment, at her house in Scottsdale, Ariz., and at an Airbnb in Napa Valley. Ms. Sinema began paying for him to receive psychedelic treatment, the lawsuit claimed.
Ms. Ammel claimed that she ultimately discovered “romantic and lascivious” messages that Ms. Sinema was sending to Mr. Ammel on Signal. One message included a picture of Ms. Sinema in nothing but a towel, the suit claimed.
Ms. Sinema would often make lewd jokes to Mr. Ammel on Signal and share her unguarded thoughts about parts of her job she despised, according to the suit.
When Mr. Ammel asked Ms. Sinema why she was planning to skip President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s State of the Union speech in 2024, for instance, she responded that she had no interest in listening to “some old man” talk about legislation she had written, Ms. Ammel claimed.
Ms. Sinema also encouraged Mr. Ammel to bring MDMA drugs on a work trip, so she could help guide him through a psychedelic experience, the lawsuit claimed.
According to the suit, the two also exchanged messages discussing missionary-style sex, which Ms. Sinema deemed to be “Boring!”
Mr. Ammel eventually told his wife he wanted a divorce, but struggled to admit he was engaged in an affair, according to the suit.
In 2024, Ms. Sinema announced she would not seek re-election, admitting that her political experiment failed and that her independent, moderate, deal-making brand of politics was “not what America wants right now.”
“Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year,” she said in a video announcement at the time.
Since then, Ms. Sinema has been involved in the psychedelic science industry, and has discussed undergoing ibogaine treatment with the aim of preventing dementia. She also joined a law firm, Hogan Lovells, where she works on issues like cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
Annie Karni is a congressional correspondent for The Times.
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