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Justice Department: Ensign complaint should go to FBI
Monday, July 20, 2009 | 12:52 p.m.
Sun Archives
- John Ensign - photos, video, blogs, stories, bio
- Behind the closed doors on C Street (7-19-2009)
- Ethics group amends Ensign complaint over $96,000 payment (7-17-2009)
- Ensign’s $96,000 question: Severance pay or gift to Hamptons? (7-16-2009)
- In D.C., some worry Ensign saga is not over (7-15-2009)
- Ensign gives first Senate speech since acknowledging affair (7-15-2009)
- Ensign to stay in Senate, seek reelection (7-14-2009)
- Silence, not calls for Ensign to quit (7-12-2009)
- If shockers done, Ensign could stay in office, many say (7-11-2009)
- GOP support for Ensign dwindles as new details of affair emerge (7-10-2009)
- Ensign's parents gave Hampton family $96,000 (7-9-2009)
- Hampton portrays Ensign as relentless (7-9-2009)
- Ensign’s pal lacked usual qualifications for top job (7-5-2009)
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Justice has responded to an ethics group’s request for an investigation into Republican Sen. John Ensign’s affair by suggesting the group take its complaint to the FBI.
In a letter to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington released today, the Department of Justice said the questions surrounding the payments to the woman’s family are the purview of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“The FBI is the investigative arm of the Department of Justice and will determine whether a federal investigation may be warranted,” said the letter from William Welch, chief of the public integrity section.
“If you believe you have evidence of a violation of federal criminal law, you should provide that information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
The ethics group has said Ensign could be in violation of campaign finance law. Ensign’s parents paid the family of the woman, Cynthia Hampton, $96,000 around the time she and her husband stopped working for the senator. She had been his campaign treasurer, and her husband, Doug Hampton, was one of the senator’s top aides.
CREW maintains if the payments were a “severance” to Cynthia Hampton, as her husband claims, then they would need to be reported as an in-kind gift to the committee where she worked. No such payments were disclosed.
Ensign's attorney has maintained the payments were made as gifts to the Hampton family and "accepted as gifts."
Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, forwarded the complaint on Monday to the FBI.
Sloan suggested that the Justice Department's “public integrity section is not eager to prosecute another sitting senator” after criticism over its handling of the prosecution of former Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.
She said because “there is evidence suggesting Sen. Ensign violated a federal criminal law, CREW hopes the FBI will initiate an inquiry.”
The group has also sought investigations before the Senate Ethics Committee and the Federal Elections Commission.
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Like I have said, Ensigns parents gave a check of $96,000 to the Hamptons. Neither parent gave each individual family member a separate check which would prove it was a gift to each member of the family. One lump sum was given. Which of the family members name was the check made out to? I have been smelling something terribly foul for quite some time now.
poor little johnie ensign...
went running to mommy and daddy to fix his boo boo...
a boo boo caused by banging his good friend's / senior aide's wife...
what a pathetic little child ensign is...
and now it looks like the fbi are gonna be knocking on mommy and daddy's door...
hee hee hee...
time to exit stage left johnie boy...
however...
i must admit...
as a proud liberal democrat...
i would rather we ran against johnie boy next election...
there just seems to be so much more left to this story...
juicy details that only a hard fought election can bring out...
and it all seems to be extremely damaging to our terribly misguided republican friends!!!
I want an investigation into attempted bribery. Perhaps it was in response to attempted extortion. Investigate that as well. Federal laws? State laws? Pursue them all as jurisdictionally appropriate. All of these participants need to give sworn testimony before the proper authorities. Spare us the patently absurd "private gift" laughable canard. And, don't call it the euphemistic "hush money." Call it the more direct and accurate "bribery."
if this guy worked for any other organization out of government, he'd be FIRED! what happens to these people after they get elected? what makes them think they can do any thing they like w/o repercussions? who are the morons that defend these people?
GROW A BRAIN MAN!
Look, leave the guy alone. He came forward, was accountable for his actions and took the heat. There's enough liberals destroying this country, we don't need Ensign out and another yahoo like Reid to take his place.
Reid is an embarassment to our state. We elected a loon that where's magic underwear to work, believes he's close to God and yet votes to kill babies and now he's turning our country to socialism.. AND YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL ME ENSIGN IS WORSE?? GROW A BRAIN MAN!
@mbesson777
Ensign "came forward" only when public disclosure was inevitable. Prior to that time, it was all about keeping it under wraps. This is not about Harry Reid, nor "liberals," nor "socialism," nor "killing babies," nor anything/anyone else beyond the individuals involved in what clearly looks like a conspiracy to commit bribery to avoid exposure as an adulterer, a revelation that would (and did) neuter his Presidential ambitions.
Exactly BobbyG. So tired of people trying to say "look over there someone else did something wrong" instead of just admitting they don't think Ensign was wrong or that they just don't care what he did.
hey mbesson777...
you poor poor terribly misguided republican...
your boy johnie ensign is a child...
went running to mommy and daddy to fix his boo boo...
hee hee hee...
and you clowns were thinking he could be president one day...
hee hee hee...
hoo hoo hoo...
haa haa haa...
That $96,000 wasn't hush money, or slush money, or anything but a legitimate charitable gift.
How do we know? Because Senator Ensign said so.
And no doubt he said this right before or after he told the citizens: "Trust me."
Or was it right before or after he told Darlene: "Trust me."
Or was it right before or after he told his Mistress Cindy: "Trust me."
Or was it right before or after he told his best friend and employee Doug: "Trust me."
Or will it be when he talks to the FBI and says: "Please trust me!"
This is a shame. John Ensigns parents are fine people, believe me the best of the best. They are honest and generous, and I am sure misled by their son. What a shame to draw these wonderful people into this, shame !
The FBI should investigate the C street cult house and their finances as well.
Like father like son. Should gaming control add some of these people to the black book if the investigations uncover criminality?
Also is there mortgage fraud, was this money declared as income or gifts on the application?
Unfortunately Cradle is probably right. So sorry to our republican friends. It really was a nice haircut. Really. Presidential quality.
What a waste of taxpayer money this witch hunt is. The CREW is acting just like the ACORN perps acted in 06 and 08, passing along sliders to the liberal democrats.
Rants about Ensign laced with mistruths and other lies abound on this thread, written by incoherent and misinformed people.
Ensign is a great senator, and continually protects us from unlimited government and unlimited taxes which are being perpetrated on the American people by leftwing liberals.
What an incoherent barrel of malarkey.
WHY WASTE TAXPAYER-MONEY ON AN INVESTAGATION ? .....(*;*).....WOULD'NT IT BE LESS EXPENSIVE TO JUST GIVE ALL OF THESE "NARSISISTIC-BOZOS"(A ONE-WAY-TRAVEL-TICKET) TO:->"SIBERIA"?!?...Sincerely,yoma555