The Senate Ethics Committee released a report Thursday afternoon alleging that former Sen. John Ensign broke federal laws in a cover-up of the extramarital affair that torpedoed his once-promising career.
The bipartisan committee, which released its findings after a 22-month investigation, voted unanimously to refer the matter to the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission. We have reason to believe that Sen. Ensign violated laws within their jurisdiction, Ethics Committee chair Barbara Boxer said in a statement on the Senate floor.
The Nevadans fall began in 2009, when he copped to conducting an affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former aide and the wife of Doug Hampton, one of Ensigns top staffers. Ensign admitted that his wealthy parents gave Doug Hampton a $96,000 gift. The incident prompted three separate probes into whether Ensign had committed an ethical breach by orchestrating that payment or by helping Doug Hampton land a lobbying job that violated the Senates one-year ban against lobbying by former staffers. Hampton was indicted earlier this year for allegedly lobbying the former Senator on behalf of aviation clients just three days after beginning his new job.
The 75-page report outlines a series of allegations stemming from those incidents, including revelations that Ensign allegedly helped Hampton violate the temporary lobbying ban, lied to the SEC by framing the payment as a gift rather than a severance payout (which could violate federal election law) and obstructed the investigation by deleting his personal Gmail account, on which he stored correspondence related to the inquiry. There is substantial cause to conclude that Senator Ensign violated Senate Rules and federal civil and criminal laws, and engaged in improper conduct reflecting upon the Senate, thus betraying the public trust and bringing discredit to the Senate, the report said.
Ensign Ethics Charges Referred to Justice Department and FEC, Lurid Details Emerge | Swampland
The bipartisan committee, which released its findings after a 22-month investigation, voted unanimously to refer the matter to the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission. We have reason to believe that Sen. Ensign violated laws within their jurisdiction, Ethics Committee chair Barbara Boxer said in a statement on the Senate floor.
The Nevadans fall began in 2009, when he copped to conducting an affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former aide and the wife of Doug Hampton, one of Ensigns top staffers. Ensign admitted that his wealthy parents gave Doug Hampton a $96,000 gift. The incident prompted three separate probes into whether Ensign had committed an ethical breach by orchestrating that payment or by helping Doug Hampton land a lobbying job that violated the Senates one-year ban against lobbying by former staffers. Hampton was indicted earlier this year for allegedly lobbying the former Senator on behalf of aviation clients just three days after beginning his new job.
The 75-page report outlines a series of allegations stemming from those incidents, including revelations that Ensign allegedly helped Hampton violate the temporary lobbying ban, lied to the SEC by framing the payment as a gift rather than a severance payout (which could violate federal election law) and obstructed the investigation by deleting his personal Gmail account, on which he stored correspondence related to the inquiry. There is substantial cause to conclude that Senator Ensign violated Senate Rules and federal civil and criminal laws, and engaged in improper conduct reflecting upon the Senate, thus betraying the public trust and bringing discredit to the Senate, the report said.
Ensign Ethics Charges Referred to Justice Department and FEC, Lurid Details Emerge | Swampland
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