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twitterNEVADA’S REPUBLICANS:
Ensign’s mea culpa tops bad day for GOP
Senator acknowledges infidelity, governor’s chief of staff quits, state senator resigns
Tiffany Brown
Sen. John Ensign holds a press conference announcing his affair with a staff member at the Lloyd George Federal Building in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Ensign Admits Affair
U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staff member Tuesday afternoon at the Lloyd George Federal Building in Las Vegas.
Audio Clip
- Sen. John Ensign read a statement about his extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff at a press conference on Tuesday, June 16, 2009.
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Sen. John Ensign, with his wife, Darlene, and their children, speaks to supporters during a Republican party at the Red Rock Resort on Nov. 7, 2006.
Other Coverage
- The Washington Post: Sen. Ensign Acknowledges an Extramarital Affair
- The New York Times: Senator Says He Had Affair With an Aide
- Politico: Admission clouds Nevada Sen. John Ensign's future
- Reno Gazette-Journal: Sen. John Ensign admits affair, won't resign
Beyond the Sun
Nevada politics were thrown into turmoil, and the state’s Republican Party suffered another serious setback Tuesday as Sen. John Ensign acknowledged an extramarital affair with a staff member who was the wife of a top aide to the senator.
The woman is believed to be Cynthia Hampton, then-treasurer of the senator’s campaign and political action committee. Her husband, Doug Hampton, was a senior member of Ensign’s Senate staff.
Ensign’s afternoon news conference at the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse was just the midpoint of one of the strangest days — and most damaging for Republicans — in recent Nevada political history.
Ensign read a brief prepared statement in which he expressed regret and took no questions.
“I came back home to Nevada to come forward to explain to the citizens of our state something I was involved in about a year ago. Last year I had an affair. I violated the vows of our marriage. It is absolutely the worst thing I have ever done in my life,” Ensign said in a meeting room at the courthouse.
Ensign said he sought and received forgiveness from his wife and that the couple had gone to counseling. He said he is still committed to serving the people of Nevada.
Still, the day’s events are likely to distract him from his efforts to rebuild the Nevada Republican Party.
The party took two other smaller, but still damaging, blows Tuesday, as state Sen. Warren Hardy and Gov. Jim Gibbons’ chief of staff, Josh Hicks, both resigned to pursue other opportunities.
It is not yet clear what impact Ensign’s affair will have on his apparent move toward national prominence.
Ensign has a history as a strong social conservative — he is a member of the Promise Keepers and is likely to face charges of hypocrisy.
The affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008. The Hamptons, who could not be reached for comment, have not worked for the senator since May 2008.
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” Ensign said. “I know I have deeply hurt and disappointed my wife, Darlene, my children, my family, my friends, my staff and all of those who believed in me.”
Darlene Ensign released a statement about the affair:
“Since we found out last year we have worked through the situation and we have come to a reconciliation. This has been difficult on both families. With the help of our family and close friends our marriage has become stronger,” Darlene Ensign said.
John Ensign, first elected to Congress with the Republican wave in 1994 and then to the U.S. Senate in 2000, was thought to be a rising star in both state and national politics. He’s become a fixture on the Beltway talk show circuit and had been thought to be a potential national candidate in 2012, offering reliably conservative views and TV good looks.
He ran Senate Republican election efforts last year — an effort that failed badly with Republicans losing eight and as many as nine seats if Al Franken of Minnesota gets seated.
Still, he rose to become chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, which is the No. 4 position on the leadership ladder.
He traveled this month to Iowa, which holds the first presidential caucus on the nominating calendar, to test the waters.
Nevada political operatives said Ensign could recover but added he has a “hypocrisy problem” because he has been a social as well as fiscal conservative.
He called on Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who pled guilty in 2007 to soliciting sex in a Minneapolis airport bathroom, to resign. He said during his 1998 Senate campaign that then-President Bill Clinton should resign because of his affair with an intern. And he has defended the “sanctity of marriage.”
For Nevada Republicans, the revelations interrupt hopes that Ensign would help rebuild the party following massive losses in 2008. Ensign, who consistently polls the best among Nevada elected officials, had pledged to help rebuild the party by raising money and organizing grass-roots support.
Robert Uithoven, a Republican operative who got into politics by volunteering for Ensign’s 1994 campaign, said Ensign can come back.
“Since 1994 John Ensign has established a lot of good will. He’s been an effective member of the House and Senate, and is one of the most effective elected figures in Nevada. Because of that he has a very good chance of healing this situation,” he said.
“These things are not the career killers they used to be,” said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races at the Cook Political Report in Washington.
But Ensign’s personal life would seem to be intruding on his efforts to rebuild in Nevada, as several Republican operatives acknowledged Tuesday.
Sun partner Politico, as well as Fox News and other outlets, reported that Ensign was the subject of an extortion threat related to the affair. They also reported that Ensign had given Hampton a severance when she left the employ of his campaign committees.
The Sun could not confirm the reports.
Nevada Republicans began trading rumors early Tuesday.
In the front of their minds, Republicans were reminded that Ensign had been suddenly absent from Washington in 2002 and declined to offer details about why he took two weeks off from his job in Congress to tend to a “personal matter,” which was assumed to be related to his marriage.
“I’m not making any comments one way or the other,” Ensign said at the time. “I’m just asking people to respect my privacy.”
Washington started whispering Tuesday afternoon when Ensign failed to show up for the Republican Party’s weekly policy lunch or attend a leadership news conference that followed.
Ensign, as the fourth-ranking leader in his party and chairman of the Senate’s Republican Policy Committee, is often central to both.
The Washington Post first reported the story Tuesday.
Ensign’s office did not respond to several e-mailed questions from the Sun.
The questions included:
• Was Cynthia Hampton given a severance, and if so, why?
• Did Ensign secure employment for Doug Hampton after his departure from Ensign’s political and legislative orbit?
• If Ensign was the victim of an extortion attempt, did he alert authorities?
While Ensign confronts these questions, Nevada Republicans are temporarily without a leading figure. Gibbons is going through a messy divorce and is one of the least popular elected officials in the country.
Sun reporters Michael J. Mishak, Mary Manning and Steve Kanigher contributed to this report.
Discussion: 47 comments so far…
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Feet of clay and mouth of two.
worst thing he has ever done . . . yet!
Not only cheating on his own wife, but with the wife of someone who works for him! "Respect my privacy" indeed!
Of course the Review Journal practically defended his actions in an editorial this morning by always flipping the argument towards Liberals. They also went as far as stating this is a personal family matter. In either case for someone who has attempted to defend the sanctity of marriage his arguments today fall flat. John Ensign like any good human is just that "human." So I do hope this gives Republicans pause. Lets face it they do not have an exclusive contract on faith since today few have faith in them...
Why do people care about his personal life?
DS:
Because people want him to run for President, you know that very PUBLIC job and he is a member of the REPUBLICAN PARTY - the alleged "Family Values" party.
No one would care about his personal life, or Sarah Palin's family life, or any other politician's life if they weren't so two-faced about everything that comes out of their mouths.
Like most Republicans,
Ensign, George Bush, Jim Gibbons, Larry Craig, etc. etc. They are only out to protect traditional Social Moral values and Traditional Marriage: Bull! Hypocrisy reigns supreme in the GOP and it has become less and less relevant in the American Landscape.
I just want one reporter to ask him if he still believes that he, an admitted adulterer, should have more legal rights than a monogamous gay couple.
People like Ensign make me sick. The adultery took place more than a year ago and he wouldn't be admitting it now if it wasn't to become news anyway. He thinks that if he comes out and does his big mea culpa before some newspaper exposes him first that it will make him look more genuinely sorry.
We all make mistakes and errors in judgement. But Ensign's error in judgement is compounded by the fact that he portrayed himself as a holier than thou defender of "traditional marriage".
It's easy for him to admit that he wronged his wife, his family, his friend and the people who voted for him.
When will he ever have the courage and integrity to admit that he has been a self-serving hypocrite as well?
Typical from the gop. Hypocrites beyond belief. Ensign blasted Bill Clinton over the Lewinsky thing, in fact he even made it a huge part of his campaign against Reid. Mr. Family Values, lol.
"I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it's because of what he (Clinton) put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through," he was quoted saying at the time. "He has no credibility left," he added.
-John Ensign
"Who the cap fit...let them wear it"
-Bob Marley
I'am at loss for for words and sorry to see the Senator is just another sleazy Washington politician. Would I vote for him again, Yes. The alternative is another Democrat Progressive who will continue down the Obama road of dissemblling the constitution and taking away our freedoms.
Resign! Hypocrite liar.
No Values, No Morals, No Honesty.
Never trust Ensign, never vote republican again.
The Republicans and Libertarians really have no more to say or condemn Bill Clinton about his White House Zipper escapade with Lamonica Lewinski.
All men have a proclivity to have problems with keeping their zippers up when the opportunity arises.
Republican, Libertarian or Democrat it is the same for men everywhere...They often think with what is behind the zipper and not with their brains !
Who cares...he will never be President now for sure...he did it to himself...he slipped his zipper open at the wrong time and it has now cost him...Let's end all of this scandal talk and move on to concern our selves with the real business of the people.
Hey all. Today (June 17) on Face to Face with Jon Ralston, we are talking about the political ramifications of Ensign's admitted affair. That's on Las Vegas ONE, Cox Cable Channel 19 at 5:30pm, 6:30pm, and 8pm.
Another 'My Morality is better than yours' republic-rat. I do believe that having sex with a subordinate is considered a crime within the federal government. This piece of crap won't allow Gay Rights or Medical Marijuana in the 'Land of the Free', and he is more than willing to tell you when you commit a crime against HIS values. I'm sure he would vote for an amendment giving 'special' rights to slimeballs like himself, as he votes to take away the rights of some other American. I'd bet he can't even spell Constitution, no pun intended. I am sure all you 'High Values' oriented Nevadans will reelect this slime ball. You've done it before. Let's hear it for the head in the sand-ers!! Disgusting!
It would be too easy to ask him to resign.
Senator Ensign could step up to the plate and do the right thing.
He should extend his apologies to the Nevada Gay community for putting on us the hurt and humiliation he is now feeling himself. He is a human being, no better and no worst than couples like Robert and myself.
Robert and I have been partnered for 16 years, married in Canada 6 years ago and thanks to powerful men like Senator Ensign, Robert and I live here in Nevada as second class citizens.
We fought hard for Domestic Partnerships and are proud of that accomplishment. We are working towards marriage equality in America by telling our stories and to try and change hearts and minds even one at a time.
The Senator can join the growing voice of true conservatives who feel strongly that folks like Robert and myself are Americans who should be treated equally under the law.
Senator, you have a great staff at your offices. They are good listeners when I call them. And they always treated me with respect when I would call them regarding Gay issues. They even made us feel that you had an open mind to our issues.
Maybe now you can.
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142
John Ensign is a veterinarian. Is "Neuter and Spay the Only Way"?
See:
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009...
I'm in tears....from laughing so hard over this veterinarian castrating himself!~!
Thanks to the husband for extorting him or the public would have never known. It's still the same 'ol Immoral Majority that Newt Started.
Normally I couldn't care less about someone's sex life. Consensual sex is always OK in my book (I have a secular morality that consists of doing no harm).
But in this case the problem is hypocrisy. Ensign condemned Clinton for having an affair and said that he should resign. And Ensign is a typical social conservative who wants government to impose religious morality on everyone else via a ban on abortion, anti- gay rights, etc.
Contrast Ensign with John Edwards, who also had an affair. But Edwards wasn't a hypocrite because he didn't talk about or intrude upon other's sex lives.
If a man is willing to look his wife in the eye and lie - he will lie to anybody.
And what does anyone expect. He is part of the Mormon cult, what GOOD could ever become from worshipping the devil.
The RJ "editorial" relating to this story today is the saddest commentary by any alleged journalist that I've perhaps ever read. Sherman Frederick is obviously no true newspaperman. He should have his credentials taken away.
Edwards lied up until the baby was born, then he finally admitted that the kid was fathered by him.
At least Ensign came clean.
DS wrote "Why do people care about his personal life?"
Well, here is what Mr. Ensign has written:Ensign called on Clinton to resign over Lewinsky. He called on Larry Craig to resign over the bathroom incident. He has called for a constitutional amendment to "defend marriage". And then there's this little gem:...""There's too many people that paint with a broad brush that we're all corrupt, we're all amoral. " And having these kinds of things happen, whether it's a Republican or Democratic senator -- we certainly have had plenty of Democratic scandals in the past -- we need people who are in office who will hold themselves to a little higher standard..." That's why!
ps. Will Sid (from Ice Age)I mean Heidi Harris call for him to resign?
So, the public should leave him alone. There was
Bill Clinton and JFK and FDR. Leave him be. He'll drop out. He'll resign. Maybe.
All I can say is Thank the lord your marriage is as strong as ever..LOL
These unconfirmed extortion rumors are more than a little troubling. It seems the media is getting a little too eager to attach specific names to some serious allegations, based on the word of lone, unidentified sources. (The Sun is handling it properly by not identifying anyone as the alleged perpetrator. Other outlets aren't exercising that kind of discretion.)
If it's true, Ensign needs to file a police report, post haste, and cooperate fully with that investigation.
If it's B.S., someone's going to get hit with a libel lawsuit, and quickly.
Ensign is such a hypocrite. He talks about "family values", then degrades the value of our families. Perhaps if he weren't obsessing over LGBT families so much, he could have valued his own family some more.
Do most politicians just crave power or are they there to serve their country and state? Most politicians are completely out of touch in the real world, because they never did an honest days work in their lives. Ensign was different, but let us down anyway. The worst part is that the above is generally true in the other 49 states as well.
What about the subordinate / superior relationship that constitutes sexual harassement?
I want to know which person initiated the affair?
Who was it that forgot Nancy Reagan's policy line of "Just Say NO!"
How much "severance" pay was paid?
I hope the Sun "follows the money" - that will be very, very enlightening!
A very important question....will Ensign now resign his seat in the Senate? After all, he demanded that Bill Clinton and Larry Craig (Idaho) both resign....
Maybe its just a case of don't do as I do.....but do as I say! Hmmmmm....is that a good definition of hypocrisy?
The editorial that appears in today's Review-Journal is typical of that right-wing rag.....no surprises there.....
Maybe "Family values Newt" will come sprinting to Ensign's defense...after all, Newt should know what this whole things is about....Newt has been there...he's done that!
The irony here is the LIBS and DEMS. Along with some media, they swept the John Edwards situation under the rug ... days after the Presidential run last year. Barely made the news. But, they are all jumping on the ENSIGN situation. Rush was right ... the LIBS and DEMS show you who they are scared of by who they attack.
Yesterday was a great day to be in Nevada! The poster boy for the return of the Republican party in Nevada taken down by his own filthy hatred of marriage? Mr. Promise Keeper himself taken down a notch by his own failure.
Say -- when is he gonna come clean about that week or two he went missing a few years back? Nevada voters wanna know, Johnny. . .
Most people probably have never heard of the Kinsey Syndrome. More about this can be found at http://www.kinseysyndrome.com/.
According to the Kinsey syndrome, Senator Ensign's infidelity is mainstream and politically correct.
Under today's prevalent Marxist theory of reversal, infidelity is considered moral and fidelity is considered immoral.
Ensign should therefore pride himself by admitting his infidelity to all concerned and thereby acting as a role model for all of us now-brainwashed Marxists, just like Bill Clinton did by having Monica Lewinsky publicly perform fellatio on him.
Therefore, Ensign has everything to gain and nothing to lose from his carefully calculated behavior.
It's a brave new world, folks! Accept it uncomplainingly, or else!
Sen. Ensign hasn't been there for us. He voted against help for people underwater on their mortgage because of the "sanctity of the contract". Well he made a contract with his wife to love, honor and cherish. He's a member of Promise Keepers yet he can't even keep the most sacred commitment to his family. He called for the resignation of Clinton and Craig but thinks giving up his "Leadership post" is enough and that we the voters should respect his privacy. Sen. Ensign, what's good for the goose comes to mind. Man up and let your fellow traveler Gov. Gibbons pick a replacement. Maybe we can have a special election and get two birds with one vote. I doubt that the folks in Iowa will have as short a memory as you seem to think we constituents will. Adios Amigo, don't let the door hit your family values on the way out.
Yet another anti gay marriage "christian" hypocrite! RESIGN SEN ENSIGN!
I think the validity of HIS marriage should be put up to public vote in the next election!
I challenge someone to do it!
"As John Ensign has demonstrated that he is unable to remain faithful and true to the vows of marriage, we, the voters of Nevada, do hereby revoke his marriage and furthermore prohibit him ever entering into another legally recognized relationship in the future".
Hey, if he thinks it's acceptable to vote on other people's relationships...why shouldn't it be ok to vote on his?
"He called on Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who pled guilty in 2007 to soliciting sex in a Minneapolis airport bathroom, to resign. He said during his 1998 Senate campaign that then-President Bill Clinton should resign because of his affair with an intern. And he has defended the "sanctity of marriage."
Time to fall on your sword, John.
I will tune into the Ralston show, thanks for the heads up!
Questions: sex, money, lies? What about taxpayer money? The house deal? Severance payment? Sweetheart mortgage? 1.2 million on a $800K HOUSE? lies on documents? Employment applications and disclousre documents? They people involved seem to be living way beyond their means and are upside down in their house big time?
Can we afford to have a "caponized" Senator with unemployment, housing and the hotel/construction industry in bad shape?
mwh710-Your "Mormon hating" bias is showing..John Ensign is not a Mormon and never has been.
I'm glad to see Ensign standing up for "Family Values" and the "Sanctity of Marriage" !!!!
Keep up the hypocracy GOP !!!!!
He'll tell you that Marijuana isn't medicine, all the while knowing that the US Government has a patent (#6630507) on a marijuana constituent THC, for uses as neuroprotectants, for example: limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, MS, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Another for it's antioxydant properties for treating problems such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as Arthritis and IBS.
But on the DEAs page it says that there is Medical Marijuana and it's called Marinol. It's 100% THC, But he'll tell you something like 'today's marijuana is twice as powerful as the marijuana of the 70s'. Todays is averaging 6 - 12% THC. But that little Marinol pill of the DEA is 100% THC. Am I missing something?
How about the kids? Juvenile diabetes might be a thing of the past with stem cell research, but he doesn't want that... But the KIDS! Juvenile Diabetes, that's kids right?
He'll also tell you that it is a good thing to take away the Constitutional Rights of Americans, only because they want to have the advantages that come with marriage and to be able to share their lives with and love someone of their own sex. Get that? Take someone's GOD Given inalienable Constitutional Rights away because he is the Morality Police.
But he will use his power of office to have sex with a subordinate staffer, who is married to another subordinate staffer, oh yea they are not the same sex so it must be OK. Isn't there a federal law against that? But as I see in this comment area, republicans would vote him in again. They give him excuses. He's a real creep and Nevada deserves what they got. Vote him in again, maybe next time he'll use his power to seduce a Gay staffer, almost 10 percent of Americans are Gay so they say. Is your son or daughter Gay? You want their rights taken away?
I guess Nevada deserves him. But the country would be better if he just hid his face and quit the Senate all together. Oh yea, I have been a republican for thirty 38 years.
Let he who is without stones cast the first sin - oh- let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I believe when Jesus was in that situation of being asked to condemn a woman caught in adultery he wrote in the sand. What do you think - he probably noted the sins of the people on this board - I mean the ones condemning the woman - and they all laid down their stones and left. We all have lots of ongoing work to do!
Promise Keepers...Born Again...Its like a railroad crossing with the arms coming down,the red lights flashing,the warning sounds wailing.Watch out for the "Hypocrit Special",Ensign at the throttle.
All of my friends and I are going to join Sen. John Ensign's staff in pursuit of more frequent and kinkier sex. We also want to employ all of our extended circles of friends. Look out holy rollers! Rev. Bookburn - Radio Volta
EN-SIGN SHOULD RE-SIGN.
tannsummer,
No one in the media swept the Edwards affair under the rug. You have been watching too much FOX NEWS.
Ensign only "came clean" after he knew school was out. He hid this for over a year. He would have never "come clean" had the poop not been about to hit the fan.
Rush Limbaugh sends his 400 dollar a week housekeeper out to score pills for him, Larry Craig taps his foot in his "wide stance," Mark Foley and those young boy's, and now "Mr Perfect" is caught in an affair and using tax payer money to silence being exposed.
OH, the HYPOCRISY.