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Sen. John Ensign speaks to the media about an affair he had with a former staffer Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at the Lloyd George Federal Building in Las Vegas.
Published Friday, Nov. 19, 2010 | 1:57 p.m.
Updated Friday, Nov. 19, 2010 | 3:09 p.m.
Sun Coverage
The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint against Sen. John Ensign over a $96,000 payment his parents made to his former mistress and her family.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a campaign finance watchdog group, announced Friday that the commission had dismissed its complaint against Ensign, his parents, his campaign and his political action committee over the money paid to Cynthia Hampton, with whom the Nevada Republican has admitted having an affair. CREW contended it amounted to an illegal political donation to Ensign.
The FEC said in a written statement explaining its reasons that Ensign's parents considered the April 2008 payment to Hampton, her husband and their children a gift given out of concern for longtime family friends. Hampton is a former Ensign campaign aide, and her husband Doug Hampton used to be an Ensign congressional staffer. (RELATED: John Ensign signals support for repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’)
The commission said Ensign's parents, Michael and Sharon Ensign, wrote a $96,000 check, intending that $24,000 go to each member of the Hampton family: Doug and Cynthia Hampton and their two sons. It said the Ensigns wanted to give the family $100,000 but gave a lesser amount because it would fall within the maximum permitted tax-free gift limits under IRS rules.
The senator's parents told the commission the gift was part of a pattern of financial largesse that they, the senator and his wife had given to the Hamptons over several years.
The senator admitted in June 2009 that he had the extramarital affair. The affair ended in 2008.
The commission's action doesn't mean the government is finished investigating John Ensign. He has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department's public integrity section and the Senate ethics committee. The inquiries revolve around whether Ensign helped Doug Hampton violate federal lobbying restrictions.
Ensign announced earlier this week that he is preparing to run for a third term.
that's good. Now he can work on being re-elected.
Oh how I wish we ordinary folk could get away with this kind of thing - it's outlandish; it's brazen - all that he did would have run an ordinary person into hiding. But....I forget, these are the 'elite' politicians who get away with everything; including destroying our country with their lavish spending and outright misappropriation of $$ on behalf of the citizens of this country!
Now we know why he came out of hiding to start working on his re-election bid, he knew they were going to give him a pass. See you in 2012 Senator.
Of course they won't ...that's the way these scumb*gs operate.
Say what? Is the Federal Election Commission composed of OJ's California jury? What a crock.
First Rangel and now Ensign............must be nice.
No, First Rangel and next up will be Maxine Waters...
Interesting that the republicans are celebrating Ensign's exploitation of his parents in the scheme to payoff his mistress' family.
Ensign had to beg his parents to pay them off so that he wouldn't face charges.
What kind of man does that?
"...Ensign's parents...wrote a $96,000 check, intending $24,000 to go to each member of the Hampton family..."
The Hampton's have three children - which one was left out and why?
So, I guess this means that we should start trusting him again?
Maybe, just maybe, we might have a Senator out of this ordeal who can truly be genuine to his constituants instead of the "holier than though" mentality that has gripped some of the Reublican and Democrat parties.
The Senator is possibly a more humble person from his experiance.
I read today that the Senator may yet be open to the idea of repealing "Dont Ask Don't Tell". This would be the kind of LEADERSHIP that is so sorely missing in Washington. Imagine. A conservative like Senator Ensign actually studying the harm that DADT has done to our military and working towards ending this horrible policy which has cost so many patriotic Americans their military careers because they were outed as gay.
Perhaps now, our Senator can be able to look beyond the dogma of Washington and be a Senator who will think independantly about his country and constituants instead of saying "no" to evertything just because the Republican leadership tells him to.
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142
So now we find the FEC is bought and paid for too? Ensign isn't going to become "humble" and represent anybody but his best intrests in the future ,...he just wants to run again in hopes of continuing to feed at the public trough while getting away with anything he can. All he's thinking about right now is how he dodged this bullet. One might wanna see if Mom & Dad have written any other checks to save Johnny's bacon. If he runs, Nevada voters will simply need to boot him out.
This probably signals the end of Ensign's troubles with the Feds. Ensign supports Harry on Harry's quest to end "Don't ask, don't tell," Harry talks to Obama, and Obama calls off the dogs at Justice.
Quid pro quo Washington style.
Ensign, just like Tom DeLay have the ignominious attitude that they are above the law and as members of the power elite are the "chosen ones". All members of the working class, poverty level citizens, the poor, and the aged are the enemies. The Homeland Security is actually a program to protect the privileged class from those in adversity.