From the 1st link by the Wikipedia writer-----note the attempt by J.T.Callendar, a RICHMOND NEWSPAPER REPORTER of 1801, to discredit Jefferson after Jefferson, was elected President.
" Callender's original claims
In 1802, James T. Callender, a Richmond newspaper reporter, published the first claim that Thomas Jefferson was the father of who he claimed was Sally Hemings's son, Tom. Callender had a contemporary reputation as a scandal monger. Callender sarcastically called the boy "President Tom" and said that he closely resembled the President and had been born upon Jefferson and Hemings' return from Paris. The Woodson family later said that Tom was Thomas Woodson, and the Woodsons' and Callender's assertions were refuted by the 1998 DNA evidence.
In 1798, Callender had been incarcerated by President John Adams under the Sedition Act. Three years later, after Callendar had been released and Jefferson had been elected president, Callender asked Jefferson to appoint him Postmaster of Richmond, Virginia. When Jefferson refused, Callender wrote an article that he fathered children "by this wench Sally" in retaliation.[14]"
Seems little has changed in 200 years in politics.
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