One confirms, the other denies…

Jim McGreevey, the former governor of New Jersey, has confirmed reports that he and his wife had sexual encounters with a male aide while he was serving as a local official and running for governor, according to the Associated Press.

“This happened, this happened in the past, and now we need to move on with our lives,” McGreevey tells the wire service.

His ex-wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, tells the wire service that the published claims are “completely false.”

The McGreevey saga leaves me with a new appreciation for the dignified manner in which other elected officials—Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Larry Craig—have conducted their sex lives.

UPDATE: Here’s the full text of Dina Matos McGreevey’s statement. Ah, the drama…

Theodore Pedersen’s claims, as reported in the Newark Star Ledger on March 16, are completely false and were prompted by Jim McGreevey. This all has to do with the publicity I have received since Governor Spitzer resigned. Jim has enlisted one of his cronies in trying to distinguish that situation from his own, and to discredit me in the media. He cannot stand it when I am receiving attention in the media rather than him.

This is not the first time. Jim started with a false claim, made shortly before my book was published, that I knew he was gay when we were married. The falsity of that claim is made clear on the very first page of Jim’s book, just as his description of our relationship in his book stands in stark contrast to Pedersen’s false allegations.

Jim again became the focus of the media’s attention, just one day after my book was released by announcing his intention to become an Episcopalian priest.