mark sanford the politician. i wasn't the only one. right there with me, caught between image and reality was sanford's closest aide-- his former chief of staff, scott english. thank you so much for sitting down with us. you worked for mark sanford from '96 to 2015? -is that-- -yes. you know, i had my impression of him, which was that he was a nice, affable guy. uh, he issued a proclamation for our wedding, which i do not have hanging up in my house anymore. but i mean, my point is i knew him and i liked him and jenny and marshall and bobo and blake, uh, and landon. what--what did you think of him? you know, i love and respect this guy. i put in a lot of effort with this guy, okay? i missed a lot of my children's life for this guy. -yeah. -which, by the way, is why i've never done an interview about this ever in my life. -and...until today. -right. but, you know, i could just never imagine him... like, he had no game. i mean, he just didn't. and when someone threw out to me that maybe he had a mistress, i just lau

scandals take people completely out the game, and mark sanford-- that didn't happen to mark. mark didn't get impeached. he finished his term, and he actually won another race, uh, for the united states congress. by being honest to himself, being honest to his conservative political values, and being honest with the public, the real mark sanford was able to shake the perfection of the past and start building a new story, even if it took him a long walk along the appalachian trail to get there. [birds chirping] ♪ tapper: being from philadelphia, i have an inherent distrust of anything that comes from new jersey. although i do acknowledge that the garden state punches way above its weight when it comes to political scandals. [indistinct conversations] in 2004, the democratic governor of new jersey, jim mcgreevey, stepped into a press room just like this and became an overnight sensation when he admitted to a gay affair and resigned in the same speech. a governor coming out of the closet was genuinely shocking, a career-killer at that time. looking back, though, i can't help but

. ♪ tapper: in 2009, south carolina governor mark sanford was a republican rock star.