Presidents and First Ladies Trivia

[Steve]

The only thing similar to the clues you've given so far that I can think of is James Callendar who wanted to be appointed postmaster of Richmond but President Jefferson refused, so Callendar published a series of articles attacking Jefferson on his character. These articles included the first public mention (although of distorted accuracy) of Jefferson fathering Sally Hemings' children. Though, I'm not sure if this counts as a blackmail of a party or could even be considered successful.