Joe Morrissey has gained some attention recently from the media due to an argument between him and his soon-to-be ex-wife, beginning with a post by the latter on Instagram. 

His wife, Mryna Morrissey, has accused her husband of having a history of “serial infidelity,” manipulation, and being absent from their three children. 

Morrissey likewise claims that his children told him directly that Mryna’s boyfriend had abused them and  that Chesterfield County police detectives are currently investigating that accusation. 

In Morrissey’s allegations of abuse, it is alleged that Mryna is making accusations against him as a response to his involvement with the police, in a saved text reading that she would “-ruin him and his life.”

While the details of this exchange have garnered the public’s attention, this appears to be the tip of the iceberg for Senator Morrissey’s past as a public figure.

Before any political career of Morrisey’s, there was a stretch of time where he practiced law at his own firm; taught at several law schools in the US, Ireland, and Australia; and served as a Commonwealth’s Attorney for Richmond.

 Over the course of this career he was cited for contempt of court ten times, jailed or arrested five times, indicted (and acquitted) of five bribery, perjury, and ‘misuse of public funds’ charges, and has been suspended and reinstated a number of times. 

He got into a fistfight with a defense attorney outside of a jury trial, which he spent five days in jail for. He has also been disbarred, meaning that his law license was revoked for the above misconduct, twice. This also prompted a firing from his teaching arrangements in Western Sydney, when he had failed to disclose with the university that he had actually been disbarred.

This history of scandal also extends to his private life, when in 2013 he was found by police in his home with a 17-year-old girl. That girl, who was an employee of his law office, went on to be his wife just a few years later, the same Myrna from this most recent controversy. 

Morrissey was indicted on felony charges of indecent liberties with a minor (for the many sexual encounters with 17-year-old Myrna), possession and distribution of child pornography (for possessing nude photos of Myrna), and distribution of that same material (for sending said photos to a friend). In a plea deal Joe would only be convicted and sentenced to 12 months in prison, out of which he served three.

It was from this conviction that he finally resigned from the House of Delegates in Virginia. He then ran for what was effectively a re-election as an independent in the special election to fill his seat – and won. Serving from jail at first, he went on to serve the whole term. Later, he made a bid for State Senate and ended up winning. 

This brings the story back to the present, where the most recent events can now be seen in context with Morrissey’s controversial history. Morrisey’s divorce, public disputes with Myrna, and a history of scandalous career and personal choices have all been broadcast to the public over social media.

Both an emergency restraining order and legal counsel are working to reign in the self-publishing of further information to the general public. If such measures hold together, then some amount of privacy might prevail as things go forward for Morrissey. This seems to be the case as much of the social media sparring has since been taken down by the two Morrisseys.