Conservative Babylon

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Several former aides to Sen. John Ensign have been subpoenaed by the Senate Ethics Committee as the investigation of the Nevada Republican shifts into high gear and dramatically raises the political and legal stakes for the embattled senator.

Ensign admitted to the affair with Cindy Hampton in June… Doug Hampton claims that Ensign later aided him in lining up lobbying clients…

Beginning Wednesday, several former Ensign aides, including John Lopez, his former chief of staff, and Mike Slanker, Ensign’s former top political adviser and fundraiser, received document subpoenas from the Ethics Committee, according to sources close to the case. … NV Energy, a Nevada utility firm, also disclosed it had received a subpoena. …

More at Politico.

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Insult, meet injury: (more…)

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Practically broke by comparison, anyway:

The sex scandal surrounding Sen. John Ensign has had a devastating effect on his once-mighty fundraising machine.

According to newly filed campaign finance reports, Ensign pulled in just under $33,000 between July and September; that’s down from the $301,792 he raised in the previous quarter. He spent more than he raised last quarter, shelling out $46,000 on legal fees, meetings, political consultants and administrative expenses.

More at Politico.

Our hearts bleed. Not.

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October 2, 2009

Mike “Spanky” Duvall might be off the hook, albeit temporarily, but John “Daddy’s $96,000 to My Mistress Wasn’t Hush Money!” Ensign (R-Hypocritonite, NV) has just begun his journey into the fun-filled world of Senate ethics investigations: (more…)

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August 2, 2009

A Washington sex scandal involving a Nevada senator could become a problem for a Sumner County casino.

Kansas Lottery officials and state legislators say they’re concerned about casino proponent Michael Ensign’s role in making $96,000 in payments to the family of a woman who had a now well-publicized affair with Ensign’s son, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Michael Ensign, a casino multimillionaire, is one of two named principals in the Prairie Sky casino project proposed for the Mulvane exit on the Kansas Turnpike, about 10 miles south of Wichita.

The Ensign affair has triggered complaints that the senator and his parents, Michael and Sharon Ensign, may have violated federal campaign law with the payments — made more than a year before the senator’s affair became public knowledge. …

[The Kansas Lottery] will also conduct its own investigation, regardless of whether criminal wrongdoing is found, to determine whether there are ethical or moral issues that could affect Michael Ensign’s involvement in the casino. …

More from the Wichita Eagle.

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July 28, 2009

Days after Republican Sen. John Ensign admitted an affair, e-mail from his office intercepted by The Washington Post asked if any others on the Hill had room for “some really great interns that want to relocate to another office.” …

Ensign’s chief of staff, John Lopez, is stepping down after spending much of his professional career with the senator, as is his communications director, Tory Mazzola. …

The changes come as Ensign, his career shaken, is trying to get back to legislative normalcy…

Questions remain unanswered about the senator’s relationship with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign staffer when the affair started in late 2007. Her husband, Doug Hampton, was a top Ensign aide at the time. The affair ended in August 2008.

And new questions are emerging. …

More at the Las Vegas Sun.

Backstory:
Anti-Gay Bigot John Ensign (R-Nev.) Admits to Extramarital Affair, June 16, 2009

WASHINGTON — July 17, 2009 — Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a supplementary letter with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding additional campaign finance law violations that may have been committed in regard to payments made by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and his family to the family of his mistress, Cynthia Hampton. (more…)