Cylvia Hayes, who as the longtime girlfriend (and recently, fiancée) of Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) serves as the First Lady of Oregon, acknowledged Thursday that she had a previously unrevealed marriage to an Ethiopian national that was conducted purely for the purposes of immigration fraud. She was paid about $5,000 to participate in the sham marriage.
The false marriage occurred in 1997, when Hayes was 29; the Ethiopian immigrant, named Abraham B. Abraham, was 18 years old. Their later divorce was finalized in 2002. "Not long after the divorce, Abraham went on to graduate magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics from Greensboro College in North Carolina," The Oregonian reports. "He currently owns a two-story home in a suburb of Washington, D.C."
The story was first revealed late Wednesday by Willamette Week. This discovery apparently stemmed from court records showing she had been married three times — her official biography said she had only been married twice.
Hayes likely won't face serious legal repercussions, an immigration attorney told The Oregonian, as the statute of limitations for the offense expired five years after the marriage was first entered upon.
"This was a difficult and unstable period in my life," said Hayes, in a lengthy statement published Thursday by The Oregonian. "I was struggling to put myself through college and was offered money in exchange for marrying a young person who had a chance to get a college degree himself if he were able to remain in the United States." Because she "was ashamed and embarrassed" over the fraudulent marriage," she added, "I did not share this information even with John once we met and started dating."
Watch the video clip below, from a very shaken Hayes at a press conference earlier today --Eric Kleefeld
North Korea is at it again. But this time no one is exactly sure about what they're up to.
North Korean state media reported Sunday that Pyongyang conducted a "successful test of a great significance" Saturday at its Sohae satellite launch site, a rocket testing ground, but did not reveal what was tested. U.S. officials have said North Korea promised to close the testing ground, but it appears that won't be the case any longer as Pyongyang's year-end deadline to reach a denuclearization agreement with Washington nears after talks stalled earlier this year.
It likely wasn't a missile launch, since Japan and South Korea can usually detect those. Instead, missile experts said its possible North Korea tested a solid fuel rocket engine, which could allow the country to field intercontinental ballistic missiles that are easier to hide and faster to deploy. "If it is indeed a static engine test for a new solid or liquid fuel missile, it is yet another loud signal that the door for diplomacy is quickly slamming, if it isn't already" said Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This could be a very credible signal of what might await the world after the New Year."
North Korea has promised to adopt a "new path" if the U.S. does not offer sanctions relief, which analysts believe could include launching a satellite that would allow Pyongyang to continue testing missiles more covertly. Read more at BBC and Reuters. Tim O'Donnell