Gina Chon, Wall Street Journal reporter resigns

Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon

A Wall Street Journal reporter resigned on Tuesday, following revelations she'd had an affair with a former Bush administration security advisor who is the current nominee to be the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.

Gina Chon’s 2008 relationship with Brett McGurk, 39, was exposed last week when a series of their sexually-charged emails were posted anonymously online to sites including Flickr.

Chon “agreed to resign this afternoon after acknowledging that while based in Iraq she violated the Dow Jones Code of Conduct by sharing certain unpublished news articles with Brett McGurk, then a member of the U.S. National Security Council in Iraq," the Wall Street Journal said in a statement on Tuesday.

While the paper confirmed Chon kept her relationship hidden from her editor, the spokesperson said the company was satisfied that her work had not been compromised by the affair.

"In 2008 Ms. Chon entered into a personal relationship with Mr. McGurk, which she failed to disclose to her editor. At this time the Journal has found no evidence that her coverage was tainted by her relationship with Mr. McGurk.”

The email leak, in which the couple often joke about trading access for sexual favors, came at an awkward time for McGurk, who is in the middle of having his nomination confirmed for the ambassadorship.

The State Department has acknowledged the existence of the emails but refused to comment.

"They're out there for everybody to see," spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a briefing on Friday, maintaining that McGurk is “uniquely qualified to serve as our ambassador, and we urge the Senate to act quickly on his nomination."

McGurk has since divorced his wife, and he and Chon are now married.