Group Wants Senate to Inquire Ensigns Affair
Ensign, R-Nev., acknowledged last week that he was involved in a sexual relationship from December 2007 through August 2008. The aide was identified by her attorney as Cindy Hampton, who had worked for two Ensign political groups.
After spending the last six days in Nevada, Ensign returned to Washington on Monday. He entered his Senate office in mid-afternoon, declining to take questions from reporters.
Officials at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said they would ask lawmakers to investigate the source and amount of any severance payments to Hampton. They also said they would ask the committee to investigate whether her departure was voluntary from positions with his Battle Born Political Action Committee and Ensign for Senate.
Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, cited a letter from Cynthia Hamptons husband, Doug, as one reason the case needed investigation. Doug Hampton, a former top aide in Ensigns Senate office, said the senators conduct “led to our dismissal in April of 2008.”
Such a dismissal would have violated a Senate rule that bars employment discrimination, Sloan said.
It will likely be Wednesday before her group files its complaint with the Ethics Committee, Sloan said. She said the complaint is necessary because senators have shown little enthusiasm in the past for conducting sex-related investigations involving colleagues.
Sloan also questioned Ensigns explanation for acknowledging the affair several months after it had ended. Ensigns office said he disclosed the affair after learning that a TV reporter had been approached about it.
Last Friday, Ensigns office said an attorney for Doug Hampton had made “exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits.”
An aide with the Senate Ethics Committee declined to comment on whether the committee was conducting an inquiry concerning Ensign.