Husband of Senator Ensign's mistress acknowledges payment of $25,000
An admission from the husband of the woman involved in an affair with Senator John Ensign (R-NV). Douglas Hampton claims Ensign paid his wife $25,000. Both Hamptons were employed by Ensign. In the wake of revelations about this scandal and Ensign's actions, CREW has already filed a complaint against Ensign with the Senate Ethics Committee and a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against his campaign committee and leadership PAC. The complaints can be found here.
From the Las Vegas Sun:
Cynthia Hampton was the treasurer of Ensign’s political action committee and re-election campaign, while Doug Hampton served as a senior aide on Ensign’s Senate staff.
Hampton said Ensign paid the woman more than $25,000 in severance when she stopped working for the senator.
If true, Ensign faces a possible felony violation of campaign finance law if he paid the severance but failed to report it as an in-kind contribution to the campaign committees where she worked, according to ethics complaints filed against him.
Knowingly and willfully failing to report a contribution of more than $25,000 is a criminal violation subject to five years in prison, according to complaints filed last month by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Campaign reports show no such in-kind payment from Ensign to either his personal campaign committee or his Battle Born leadership Political Action Committee, according CREW, which filed complaints June 24 with the Federal Elections Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee.
The severance was just one of several new revelations that arose from part one of the two-part interview with Ralston.
Request for criminal investigation of Ensign
My major concern about the request for the criminal investigation is that it will give the Senate Ethics Committee the perfect excuse not to act on your previous complaint. They can say, in effect, "we don't want to do anything to compromise an ongoing criminal investigation."
Absent heavy public pressure, I have very little confidence that the Senate will investigate its own. The problem may become more acute now that Sen. Coburn --another Republican senator is certainly involved, at least as a witness, if not a participant.. I think that Democrats would be afriad of being charged with a "partisan witch hunt" or similar tag.
In my opinion a Senate inquiry should take priority over a criminal investigation because the Ethics committee can focus on a broad range of charges, especially sexual harrassment, that my not rise to the level of criminal offenses.
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http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/0 7/08/rules-of-ci
I there's an offensive action done it is necessary to fine a penalty. This is under the law. For some oddball reason, a hot internet search these days is for a list of Rules of Civility and Decency in Company and Conversation. The 110 Rules of Civility and Decency in Company and Conversation was a document authored by 16 year old George Washington, who laid out every day guidelines for behavior, ethics, and manners, and the gist of the list is cultivating civility and modesty. Washington came from a different era, in which modesty, dignity, and stoicism were desirable qualities in a gentleman of any class.