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Isaac Brekken / Associated Press
Doug Hampton is pictured outside his home on Friday. The office of Republican Sen. John Ensign, who had a nine-month-long affair with Hampton’s wife Cynthia, said money had been demanded of him on Doug Hampton’s behalf.
Saturday, June 20, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Related letter
Sun Archives
- Ensign's office says Hampton made 'exorbitant demands' (6-19-2009)
- Spouse in Ensign affair sought help in letter to Fox News (6-19-2009)
- Ensign's office: Woman's husband approached media with story (6-18-2009)
- Unanswered: Why he told (6-18-2009)
- Ensign resigns GOP leadership post (6-17-2009)
- Ensign fallout could weaken GOP efforts to rebuild party at state, national levels (6-17-2009)
- Ensign's mea culpa tops bad day for GOP (6-17-2009)
- Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair (6-16-2009)
Ensign Admits Affair
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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.
Broken Promises
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Promise Broken, seg. 2
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Promise Broken, seg. 1
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- 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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Beyond the Sun
Republican Sen. John Ensign’s office turned the aggressor on Friday, three days after he admitted his affair with the wife of a former top aide, saying money had been demanded of him on the husband’s behalf.
The senator’s claim follows by a day the disclosure in the Sun that the husband, Doug Hampton, had written a letter to a Fox News anchorwoman, pleading for her to publicly expose the affair between his wife, Cynthia Hampton, and Ensign. She also worked for Ensign.
On Friday, Ensign’s office shot back.
“Within the past month, Doug Hampton’s legal counsel made exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits on behalf of his client,” Ensign’s office said. “Doug Hampton’s outrageous demand was referred to Senator Ensign’s legal counsel, who is handling the matter going forward.”
The Hamptons’ attorney, Daniel Albregts, declined to comment late Friday.
The escalating dispute between the once rising Republican star and his former staffers continues to jolt the Republican Party in Washington and Nevada.
Ensign resigned his No. 4 spot in party leadership in the Senate, and now his political future is being questioned.
Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley told Politico she had not considered a run for the Senate when Ensign is up for reelection in 2012, but the events “created a calculation that wasn’t in the equation before.”
Doug Hampton’s letter to Fox News presented a detailed and at times frenetic case for the station to investigate how “Senator Ensign’s conduct and relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal.”
Some in Washington were struck by the intense tone of the single-spaced letter by Hampton, who was paid $160,000 a year as a senatorial aide.
The letter was addressed to Megyn Kelly, co-host of the Fox morning show “America’s Newsroom,” and was dated five days before Ensign went public with the affair.
Ensign’s office said the senator stepped forward because Hampton had “approached a major television new channel.”
Fox didn’t pursue the story. A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment to the Sun on Friday, referring the paper instead to an interview the show’s producer did with the Huffington Post.
In that interview, senior producer Tom Lowell said Hampton contacted Fox News on Monday by an e-mail that included the letter as an attachment.
Lowell said that in an interview with a staff member on Tuesday, Hampton “seemed evasive and not credible, thus we didn’t pursue it ... Clearly this guy had a story to tell and we just didn’t get to it before the senator got to it.”
Later Tuesday, Ensign publicly admitted his affair with Cynthia Hampton, saying it began in December 2007 and ended in August 2008.
Lowell emphasized that Fox News did not tip off Ensign about the letter.
Then why didn’t Fox pursue the story after Ensign’s announcement?
“Sometimes a ball gets by,” Lowell told The Washington Post on Friday. “This one got by,” Lowell said.
One part of the letter, however, raised the question of how widely Ensign’s affair was known in the Senate, as the Nevadan rose to become his party’s fourth-ranking leader.
Hampton wrote that he and others had confronted Ensign about his “unethical behavior and immoral choice” on a number of occasions over the past year.
He claimed such a “confrontation” in February 2008 at Ensign’s home in Washington with a group of his peers. He wrote that one of the attendees was Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, “as well as several other men who are close to the senator.”
Ensign lives in a shared home on Capitol Hill with Coburn and other lawmakers, not an uncommon practice.
The Ensign home has been connected to a Christian religious fellowship, and Ensign is a member of the Christian men’s group Promise Keepers.
Several of the housemates, including Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Republican Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee, were not present for the “confrontation,” the Sun learned Friday. DeMint’s office said Friday that Ensign told him of the affair last week.
Coburn declined to comment, though he had said earlier in the week that Ensign has “worked hard to build his marriage back in the last six months. He’s doing what he needs to do as a man.”
Another housemate, Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, a Democrat, declined to discuss Ensign. No House members are thought to have participated in the confrontation.
The February confrontation occurred while Ensign was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, raising money and recruiting candidates for the November 2008 election.
Top Republican leaders in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, said they knew nothing of the affair until Ensign disclosed it Tuesday.
Ensign’s office also said Friday the Hamptons and their son, Brandon, were paid based on their work for the senator.
Cynthia Hampton’s salary doubled to nearly $2,400 monthly when she was promoted to treasurer of one campaign committee during the time of the affair, and her pay for work at his personal campaign office doubled to $1,000 a month.
Doug Hampton’s final month’s pay was nearly $20,000 — more than the normal rate.
Brandon Hampton was paid $1,000 monthly during his summer job at the national campaign committee Ensign chaired.
An Ensign spokesman explained Friday that Cynthia Hampton’s pay increased as she took on additional duties and Doug Hampton’s pay of $5,949 above salary was for unused vacation time, which “is in line with our office policy.”
Their son was hired as an intern after Doug Hampton made an inquiry to the national campaign office headed by Ensign, but “Ensign was not consulted as part of the decision to hire Brandon Hampton,” the spokesman said.
Doug and Cynthia Hampton stopped working for the senator in May of 2008, three months before the affair ended. The senator recommended Doug Hampton for his current job, at Allegiant Air, a Las Vegas-based airline whose CEO is an Ensign supporter, “just as he has done for other staff members,” an Ensign spokesman said.
Legal scholars said Friday that whether extortion of Ensign was being attempted — as sources initially suggested to some news outlets — would depend on the details and the state of jurisdiction because laws vary. An attorney can demand sums, even outrageous ones, to encourage settlement of a pending lawsuit. That’s not extortion, that’s playing hardball.
Yet Nevada law allows that extortion can occur when threats are made to embarrass or disclose a secret, even if the gain is not financial.
Ensign remains away from Washington and is expected to return next week.
Sun chief investigative reporter Jeff German contributed to this story in Las Vegas.
Well John you played the game your way and now you want it all to go away. You get what you paid for. Sit back, enjoy Mr. Toads wild ride.
Don't depend on the voters to feel sorry for you, you did this all on your own.
Where are the comments and photographs of the women in this story?
Is the senator's wife, who did not appear with him when he spoke to the media in Las Vegas where she lives, going to divorce him?
Where are the pithy comments about marital vows and their sacredness from the Senator's previous speeches?
What promises do promise keepers find important and what has the senator said on the record about these promises?
Could someone provide a graph/timeline showing the mistress's involvement and salary?
Did she actually do any work or was she simply being paid for sexual performance?
Is this the senator's first affair or are there more affairs yet to be disclosed?
There is so much more to learn to flesh out this story.
This is only the tip of the story.
Hampton's better get their story out, the GOP has the spin doctor out and they are trying to make poor John look the good guy in all this. Doctor, doctor spin me the news!
Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley told Politico she had not considered a run for the Senate when Ensign is up for reelection in 2012, but the events "created a calculation that wasn't in the equation before."
COME ON SHELLY....Run! You'll win easily.
It is obvious that FOX NEWS tried to burry this story. Was Hampton really stupid enough to think they would go after a Republican? Had this been a Democrat FOX would have aired this story without even checking ti all out.
Just read his letter to Fixed News, this guy is mental midget and worships fox news. He actually thought they were going to help them. Typical right wing ideolog, has no concept of the real world.
Oh and the big message of course, don't mess with Ensign, or off to jail you will go, That appears to be where this Hampton guy is headed
that mistress husband should never have been paid $160,000 as a senatorial "aide". I wonder how many MORE aids there for other senators that get $160k for shuffling papers. Thats out of control.
Then why didn't Fox pursue the story after Ensign's announcement?
"Sometimes a ball gets by," Lowell told The Washington Post on Friday. "This one got by," Lowell said.
LOL--yes. That's it. "A ball got by" Faux News. In much the same way, that GW Bush "just missed" being accepted to the Mensa Club and Dick "Dick" Cheney "just about" served in Vietnam, except for those five deferments.
And speaking of 'faux'...you have to love John John's 'anger' at the "outrageous demands" by Hampton's lawyer. As in, "if they had only made reasonable demands we could have avoided all this."
So today's lesson to the kids: when you are looking to extort money from a morally bankrupt right wing nut job Senator, dont be greedy!!!
MB
I am a registered Democrat, But love Senator Ensign. He and his wife were seperated during this time, does this make it right, no, however, This couple who claim they were lifelong friends of the Ensigns apear to take NO responsibility for their part in any of this..,that includes the husband.He has done great things for our state Shelly Bearkly..please give me a break...Run Senator Ensign, you still have my vote.
Gee, and I thought blackmail was illegal. Could the economy be the reason he wants more money? It didn't just happen yesterday.
If I were a Senator I too would do everything I could to make my love muscle "feel good". What else is there to do?
Well, we all know Fox tipped off Ensign; that's what GOP Television always does. So, fair and balanced is, once again, out the window whenever Fixed News is involved. Ensign is a fraud. He's a serial adulterer. He should be facing Department of Justice, IRS and Federal Election Commission investigations as to whether he paid Cindy Hampton and her son taxpayer dollars and campaign monies as quid-pro-quo related to her affair with him. Of course, forget about Fixed News treating this story in a fair and judicious manner. From Murdoch to Ailes to the eye-candy on-air talent and moronic male anchors who all masquerade as "alleged journalists," Fixed News is a disgrace --- just like Ensign!!!
Leftiebob: For the answers to your questions, you need to read all the stories so far. Sounds like you're jumping in late here.
Ensign complaining about Hampton's behavior is laughable. If you lie down (figuratively and in this case literally) with dogs, you wake up with fleas. Duh.
"Could someone provide a graph/timeline showing the mistress's involvement and salary?
Did she actually do any work or was she simply being paid for sexual performance?"
Yes, the Sun should do exactly what they did when they covered the Clinton affair.
Graphs, timelines, the cigar girlfriend's promotion from intern to White House staffer then to the attempt to get her a high paying job at Revlon...
Sun should do the same thing.
Hey...wait a minute....they did none of that.
I guess they should reduce their coverage.
Because with the Sun it is fair and unbais coverage.
They would never cover a Republican differently than a Democrat.
LOL.....................The Sun is a Democratic propaganda machine.
Big web talk: Cindy Hampton Pictures? No one can find them, A Pakistan wbsite was even talking about this...who will come-up with the first picture?
Someone mentioned that this is the tip of the iceberg. Read about the religious group house where Ensign lives run by a group called The Family:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/0...
A conservative version of Opus Dei--really creepy stuff. Many Congressmen apparently belong to this "Family," e.g. Coburn of Oklahoma who is today attacking "frivolous" things in the stimulus plan for Oregon. In other words they're going to be attacking all over the place to try and divert attention from Ensign. A journalist named Jeff Sharlet wrote a book just this spring about this group called "The Family"--check out the Amazon reviews. But especially read that Firedoglake site above.
Nevada law allows extortion? Now there's an interesting little tidbit that could be profitable.
Imagine the possibilities,
"Extortions R Us"
"Capitol Extortions"
"BigFish Extortion"
I'm betting that this is not a cause of Ensign being extorted at all, but, rather an attempt by the victims for a legal settlement and restitution!
Ensign abused his superior position by violating common office etiquette, and Ensign committed sexual harrassement by intimidating a women to have sex with him (knowing both she and her husband were employed by him and needed their jobs with the high income to maintain their life-styles and pay their large debts).
Ensign, then, doubled their pay in the hopes of buying their continued silence, and even hired their son - (in that way, Ensign had the entire Hampton family under his thumb) and he could continue to sexually prey on the mother and wife!
As pressures grew, Ensign allowed them to leave and paid large "severance" packages, and helped the Hampton's to get new, good, high paying jobs - again, in order to buy their continued silence - but, Ensign could not contain his predatory urges and continued to pursue his prey!
Obviously, we need a full investigation to find out the facts in this case! Could it be we have more than just a hypocritical, lying, cheating, pig here - could it be Ensign is guilty of not only sexual harrassement but of being a sexual predator?
Figures, he was a perve when he was a veterinarian here in Vegas, I knew it was a matter of time. I feel sorry for his wife. I always have. Let's hope he learns a lesson and stays in public office because he was a terrible Vet.
"The Sun is a Democratic propaganda machine." - Yes, and thank goodness we have the fair, impartial, and ever-so-objective RJ to fall back on!
The freewheeling arrogance and self-righteous sense of entitlement of Ensign, and most other U.S. senators is shocking. They laugh all the way to the bank and the brothel knowing we voters won't do a thing . . .
Clinton abused his superior position by violating common office etiquette.
Clinton, then, promoted his cigar girlfriend from intern to a White House position and was arranging for her to get a high paying job a Revlon in the hopes of buying her continued silence. He could continue to sexually prey on the cigar girlfriend and even lied to millions of Americans about the affair!
Obviously, we need a full investigation to find out the facts in this case! Could it be we have more than just a hypocritical, lying, cheating, pig here - could it be Clinton is guilty of not only sexual harrassement but of being a sexual predator? Clinton has a MO of going out and destroying the women who accuse of him sexual predator activity. A women has even accused Clinton of rape.
Hmmmmm....a lot of hypocrites coming out of the woodwork.
This was not his first affair.
Here's an interesting conrundrum. There is old case law which says Members of Congress cannot be sued for sexual harassment of Congressional employees. That law applies in every Fededral and State Court.
So, Ensign had nothing to fear econoically, and only weighed the publicity part of Hampton's alleged suggestions that payments be made. All in all, he was smart to get out in front of Mr. Hampton's letterwriting campaign.
Hampton, on the other hand, comess off like a dolt.
IS U. S. SENATOR JOHN ENSIGN (R-NV) A SEXUAL PREDATOR?
That's the biggest question of all!
jfNance32, maybe you missed this little report called "The Starr Report?" It's easily viewed online.
But you flailing about Clinton is endlessly entertaining. Anything to prove your double standard, right?
Hypocrites!
Quit being hard on the libs that are calling for Ensign's resignation when they gave Clinton a free pass who not only had an affairs but also committed felony perjury in a court of law (you know the whole what "is" is thing).
Do they have a double standard? Yes
Are they hypocrites? Yes
But I think you are being too hard on them.
As for the Star report, it clearly says he had an affair with one his employees. That he promoted the cigar girl from intern to White House staffer. That he tried to land her a high paying job at Revlon. That he lied to millions of Americans about it. That he lied in a court of law and committed felony perjury.
Thanks for pointing out the Star Report.
Ground control to Maj. Tom er Sgt. Rock. It's no longer 1998. Clinton was investigated by Ken Starr, impeached by House and acquitted by the Senate and is considered by many a failed President. HELLO. We're discussing Sen. Ensign, you know, the junior Senator from Nevada. He cheated on his wife too by the way, of his own admission. I guess kudos' are in order, he's a self admitted sleaze. By the way, it's 2009, welcome to the future.
Hey, "SgtRock" don't being making assumptions that you can't support with facts dude!
I despise this sort of misbehavior by anyone, and I strive to be equally tough on both Republicans AND Demcocrats - so, your partisan spin doesn't wash with anyone that knows me as a columnist!
Your silly, childish, sophmoric attempt to play the "But, Mommy, so-in-so did it too?" won't play with anyone that's an adult!
The most disturbing question is - "Is U. S. Senator, John Ensign, (R-NV) a SEXUAL PREDATOR?"
Guys like me, that write independently of editors and "bosses" have to be the ones that ask such direct, tough questions!
Surely, even "Sgt (hiding under a) Rock" wants the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to come out?
Two of relevance for leftiebob from Promise Keepers website
A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.
A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity
Yeah, "crackedbeak" the hypocrisy is blatantly obvious! But the most disturbing question is -
"Is U. S. Senator, John Ensign, (R-NV) a SEXUAL PREDATOR?"
It's ok, jfNance32, err, SgtRock, err, James F Nance Jr wants to give Ensign and Vitter a free pass, while endlessly criticizing Clinton for the same thing.
He's blind to his own hypocrisy.
The senator was clearly extorted by paying $160,000 salary to a consultant position - get real...and paying the sibling of the Hampton's another few grand to a useless staff position on the workforce.... thats taxpayer dollars that paid for all this.
It is obvious that Doug Hampton was pimpin hard tryin to suck out every ounce of cold hard cash from the senator before making the affair public when the pipeline valve of extorted hush hush american taxpayer money finally got shut off.
Mrs. Hampton thought more highly of the senator than her husband as she committed adultry too.... it takes two to tango.
Maybe "AKsilvereagle" but, you're just guessing and that's the whole point! We need a complete and thorough investigation by the U. S. Senate Ethics Commission!
Here are my two main questions:
"Was Ensign being blackmailed, or paying bribes, or being extorted for being stupid and sexually harassing one of his employees?"
"Is U. S. Senator, John Ensign, (R-NV) a SEXUAL PREDATOR?"
Let the facts come out, all of the facts, and let the chips fall where they may - I just want the truth and the people of Nevada to know the full truth before the 2010 election cycle!
Sen Ensign is a remarkable fellow demonstrating every bad joke about the foolishness, stupidity, lust and incompetence of Senators.
He says he announced his affair to avoid demands for large cash and non-cash payments, insinuating he was being extorted. Then it turns out it was just the husband of his mistress trying to get some attention and perhaps tort payment for the humiliation of being cuckolded and his marriage vows destroyed by Ensign's sexual activity.
But Fox news wasn't going to air anything about this claim, and what Ensign comes off as saying is that he rejected a money claim that as excessive over the value of a marriage commitment. As a Promise Keeper and other family values kind of guy, what does Ensign think is a reasonable value to place upon the marriage vow?
Not the kind of haggling that makes Ensign look good. Resigning isn't much of an option, that throws his Senate seat to Gibbons who is even more of an incompetent hypocrite and adulterer.
The only reasonable option is for Ensign to go upon a true spiritual retreat to some monastery for at least 40 days (he have something else he has to do this summer?) and think about his miserable soul and his miserable party and what it means to be a useless voice of obstruction and evil.
Then he should follow Arlen Specter out of the cesspool of the Republican Party and join President Obama and his new vision of Change We Can Believe In. That would be the only sensible result.
I have another question. Are they still going to introduce Sen. Semen as the "Honorable" Senator Ensign? If so, can we sue them for false advertising, or would that be in bad taste?
There are pictures of the house inside and out are on the web. The furniture (if it belongs to the Hamptons) looks like it belongs in a $500 a month apartment, not a 1.2 million pad reduced to $875k. Like Erin Kenny, going from a 1200 sqf house to 7 bedroom 5000 sqft house. Its not just follow the money, its research the real estate. Larry Flint or the Enquirer would have been more trustworthy than FOX.
There is a picture from a Boulder CO High School 1n 1977 that some are saying is Cindy Hampton, but did she go there under her married name, or were the names updated for a school reunion photos?
Predictions: Money trail will will show more dirt, Hamptons will go tabloid for the bucks, Republicans will force Ensign to resign.
So, here's some questions I want asked and answered:
1.) Who initiated the affair between Ensign as the employer/superior and Hampton as the employee/subordinate?
2.) Was this a intimate "sexual harrassment" relationship that took place on the taxpayers time, or dime, in any way, shape or form?
3.) Why did Ensign continue this totally innappropriate affair after he confessed to his wife and she, allegedly, forgave Ensign?
4.) Why did Ensign continue to pursue another man's wife even after she left his employ - did Ensign stalk this woman?
5.) Is U. S. Senator, John Ensign, (R-NV) actually a SEXUAL PREDATOR?
We need an investigation NOW!
Where did the sexual activity take place?
What time of day? Where did he tell his wife he was?
What has been the impact on the children?
Here is the headlines: War of words between Ensign and Hampton escalates
Ensign's office says mistress' husband made demands that were 'exorbitant,' 'outrageous'
In my book, there would be no words, I would find the guy who slept with my wife and beat him, go home, and file divorce from my wife...pretty simple.
The money thing, not Ensign's 'thing,' will be his undoing. People hardly blink anymore about an affair (too bad for him that he felt the need to tell others to step down from their jobs for doing what he does) but the aspect that he was getting the Hamptons jobs, promotions and salary raises is a different story altogether. The man is a sleazeball -- keep some promises, John.
"sandy99" I'm most concerned about the fact that Ensign committed the crime of sexual harrassment (and may well be guilty of stalking and being a sexual predator) - then, on top of that, I agree, it will be the money factors! Ensign was not only stupid enough to violate the law and mess with an employee, he, then, doubled both the salaries of these two employees, and hired their son - TOO!
That smacks of trying to buy silence (and maybe even a little guilt) - anyway we cut the facs as we know them so far - Ensign is just another, common, pathetic, lying, cheating adulter that an not be trusted around another man's wife, and does not truly care about his marriage, wife and kids - Ensign doesn't care about the marriage, wife and children of even his "best" friends - and (by his own admisssion) is guilty of sexual harrassment!
The big question is - "Is U. S. Senator, John Ensign, (R-NV) a SEXUAL PREDATOR?"
ENSIGN MUST RESIGN.
His behavior is reprehensible, his actions immoral and unethical.
@momma bear -
you assert "this was not his first affair"
Are you referring to the other "personal leave" incident? Or do you know more?
My only advice - don't take it to Fox News!
Seriously though - if you know more, let us know.
As several people have said: follow the money. In the end, that is the story, Like him or not, the money story will be the undoing of Ensign, not the sex. He was using jobs for silence -- taxpayer paid jobs. It just didn't quite work out.
follow
the
money
I like the formula of follow the facts, in chronological sequence (the time-line, over time) AND follow the money!
Then, ask the pertinent questions like:
Is U. S. Senator, JOHN ENSIGN, (REPUBLICAN-NV)not only GUILTY of SEXUAL HARRASSMENT, is ENSIGN guilty of STALKING and being a SEXUAL PREDATOR?"
Johnathan_Abbinett, how many more times are you going to make the same exact comment??? Enough already.