John Wilson Jenrette Jr. (born May 19, 1936) is an American former politician from South Carolina, best known for his involvement in the Abscam corruption scandal, and being the husband of actress and model Rita Jenrette. He was in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from January 1975 until December 1980. He was convicted of accepting a bribe in the FBI's Abscam operation. Biography Jenrette was born in Conway, South Carolina, in 1936 and grew up in Loris, South Carolina. He graduated from Loris High School in 1954. He then earned a B.A. at Wofford College in 1958. After graduating from law school at the University of South Carolina, he worked as a city attorney, then a judge, as he attempted to reach higher office. South Carolina House of Representatives Jenrette was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1964, where he represented Myrtle Beach. He retired from the state house to run for a seat in the U.S. House in 1972. U.S. House of Representatives Jenrette defeated the seventeen-term Congressman John L. McMillan in the primary, but lost the general election to the Republican, Edward Lunn Young. Undaunted, he again ran for the seat in 1974. In part because of the extreme unpopularity of Republican Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal, Jenrette won. Jenrette, a liberal, seemed out of place representing his rather conservative waterfront congressional district. However, he was locally well-known and the South Carolina Republican Party was not especially well-organized at the time in that part of the state. Jenrette easily defeated Young again in 1976 and was unopposed in 1978. Jenrette is most famous for two things during his days as a Congressman. First, he allegedly had sex with his then-wife, Rita Jenrette, behind a pillar on the steps of the Capitol Building during a break in a late night session of Congress. (The comedy group "Capitol Steps" take its name from this escapade.) Second, he was charged with and convicted of accepting a $50,000 bribe in the FBI sting operation known as Abscam which was conducted in 1980. He was recorded saying he had been given a cash bribe by an associate. Jenrette was sentenced to two years in prison, of which he served 13 months. His wife, Rita, separated from him in January 1981 and they divorced later the same year. Jenrette was defeated for re-election in