ABC’s interview with Doug Hampton on last night’s "Nightline" continues to keep the controversy surrounding Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) on the public’s radar screen. (CREW’s Melanie Sloan was also interviewed by ABC.) But the real question is whether the Ensign scandal is on the Senate Ethics Committee’s radar screen.

As most people now know, Sen. Ensign had an affair with Hampton’s wife, Cynthia. Both Doug and Cynthia Hampton worked for the senator at one point.

In this recent post, the Nevada-based blogger Desert Beacon takes aim at Sen. Ensign:

... the "everybody does it" argument minimizes the nature and depth of Ensign's betrayal of his constituents, and his unethical behavior. Having an affair with an employee's wife isn't something new on the planet, but when the perpetrator has been touting his high moral standards, affecting a devoted set of Christian ethics, and heralding his family values orientation, the hypocrisy is obvious and intense.

However, lest we forget, the Ensign scandal is not mostly about sex. The actions that Ensign and his family took after his affair with Cynthia Hampton raise serious ethical concerns. As Desert Beacon notes:

... as the issues surrounding Ensign's affair and his handling of the aftermath thaw around him some core questions remain. Did he violate Senate Ethics rules concerning the payment of the "severance" money to Hampton? Did he violate Federal statutes regarding lobbying by former staff members?

Those are key questions that the ethics committee should answer. CREW’s Melanie Sloan raised at least one more good question in her comments to a "Nightline" interviewer.