June 18, 2009
The bible tells us that he who is without sin should cast the first stone. I wonder if Nevada Senator John Ensign ever read those words.
A rising star in the GOP with presidential hopes for 2012, Ensign, on Tuesday, admitted having a nine-month "consensual" affair with staffer Cindy Hampton. Cindy’s husband Doug also worked for the senator. Ensign's office has said that both Cindy and Doug Hampton left their jobs in May 2008, and the affair ended in August 2008.
Associated Press Writer Kathleen Hennessey reports that Sen. John Ensign (51) helped his mistress's husband get two jobs during the time the rising Republican senator acknowledges carrying on an extramarital affair. In the months after leaving his post, Doug Hampton quickly landed two positions with companies connected to Ensign. One, a consulting firm that ran Ensign's 2006 campaign, acknowledges the senator encouraged the company to hire Doug Hampton.
On Thursday, Mike Slanker, a longtime Ensign campaign adviser, told The Associated Press that Ensign was "supportive" of plans to hire Doug Hampton through Slanker's government affairs firm, November Inc., in May 2008. Slanker said he was not aware of Ensign's relationship with Cindy Hampton at the time. He said the senator did not pressure him to hire Doug Hampton. "To be fair, (Ensign) was supportive, but there was no pressure," Slanker said.
While at November, Inc., Doug Hampton secured a consulting contract with Allegiant Air, a small airline currently run by Las Vegas businessman Maurice Gallagher. In August 2008, Allegiant Air hired Doug Hampton as the vice president for government affairs, according to Tyri Squyres, a company spokeswoman.
Doug and Cindy Hampton's son, Brandon, also works for the airline, Squyres confirmed. She would not say how he got the job in the company's call center.
Brandon Hampton also previously worked for Ensign, the former chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Records show the committee made twice-monthly payments, generally $500 apiece, to Brandon Hampton. The payments began in March of last year and ended in August, when Ensign's office says the affair ended.
Federal records also show that around the time of the affair, Cindy Hampton received a promotion and a pay raise at one political entity controlled by Ensign, as well as a pay raise at a second.
Rumors of possible extortion have been swirling since Ensign shocked the Capitol by admitting the affair. The Chatter circulated that the Hamptons tried to blackmail Ensign, a well-known social conservative and family-values advocate, planning to go public about the affair.
The Hamptons released a statement Wednesday criticizing Ensign's disclosure of the affair, saying they "did everything possible to keep this matter private." Ensign's office disputed the account and said Doug Hampton had approached a television media organization, alluding to plans to publicize the affair.
A day after admitting to the extramarital affair, Ensign resigned his position in the Senate Republican leadership, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. Ensign was the head of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking elected leadership position.
Ensign called on then-Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) to resign after Craig was arrested in an airport men's restroom and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a sex sting. At the time, he called Craig's actions "embarrassing."
In 1998, while serving in the House, he called on President Bill Clinton to resign from office after Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinski came to light, saying that Clinton had "no credibility left" as president.
Although his political future isn't clear now that the news of the affair is out, Ensign did say he was "committed to my service in the United States Senate."
Sources: Yahoo! News; Quote.Com; Associated Press
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