The Rev Jesse Jackson took his pregnant mistress to the White House while he was advising President Clinton over his adulterous affair with Ms Monica Lewinsky, it was reported in the US yesterday.
The civil rights activist revealed he has had an affair that has resulted in the birth of a daughter. The woman was named in the US as Ms Karin Stanford (39).
Mr Jackson, a Baptist minister and one-time aide to the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, issued a statement saying he was sorry for his actions.
Married with five children, Mr Jackson said the child was now 20 months old and he has provided "emotional and financial support" since her birth.
"As her mother does, I love this child very much and have assumed responsibility for her emotional and financial support since she was born," he continued. "This is no time for evasions, denials or alibis. I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions."
Mr Jackson did not say why he issued the statement. His New York-based spokesman, Mr John Scanlon, said later Mr Jackson acted in anticipation of tabloid reports about the child.
Mr Scanlon said the child was the result of an affair Mr Jackson had with a woman who worked in the Washington office of Mr Jackson's advocacy group, the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition. The New York Post reported that Mr Jackson had the affair while spiritual adviser to President Clinton during the Lewinsky sex scandal and even took his pregnant mistress to the White House.
He is paying her £6,700 maintenance and also paid her £27,000 for "moving expenses" when she took maternity leave and left Washington for her native California.
Their liaison began after Mr Jackson, impressed by a book Ms Stanford had written about his impact on foreign policy, hired her to run the Rainbow Coalition's Washington office.
The affair coincided with the Lewinsky scandal and Mr Jackson's unofficial position as adviser to Mr Clinton. In August 1998, around the time the child was conceived, Mr Jackson urged the public to forgive the President for cheating on his wife.
"The nation must take the test: If there are any among us who have not known the trials and tribulations and temptations, then throw a rock," he said. "At some point, we have to forgive, redeem and move on."
That December, he escorted a four-months-pregnant Ms Stanford and other Rainbow Coalition staff members to meet Mr Clinton and stood next to her during a photo opportunity.
In Los Angeles, Ms Stanford continues to work for the Rainbow Coalition as a consultant, and Mr Jackson visits her and his daughter when he's in California.
The scandal has left Mr Jackson estranged from his wife and on shaky ground with his five children, including his congressman son, Mr Jesse Jackson jnr.
"It has been an extremely painful, trying, difficult time for them," Mr Jackson said. "I have asked God and each one of them to forgive me and I thank each of them for their grace and understanding throughout this period of tribulation. We have prayed together and through God's grace we have been reconciling."
Mr Jackson said he would be taking an indefinite leave from his activist activities to "revive my spirit and reconnect with my family".