But after sending the letter, which bears the date “Feb. 2008,” Hampton said Ensign quickly disavowed it in a conversation with Cynthia Hampton and continued to pursue her.
Hampton said that on that same February weekend, Ensign told him, “I’m in love with your wife.”
And some more, because why not?
Some time later, according to Hampton, Ensign’s wife Darlene Ensign reached out to top Ensign political aide Mike Slanker, asking him to set up Hampton with political and lobbying work.Hampton said he tried but failed to extricate himself from the situation.
“John is so focused, hyper-focused on what he wants….that he’s not seeing the collateral damage that’s going on in people’s lives,” he said.
The interview, teased by the Sun, was a two-part sit-down with Ralston, to air tonight and tomorrow on Face to Face with Jon Ralston.
Late Update: Coburn’s office tells Politico in a statement:
Dr. Coburn did everything he could to encourage Senator Ensign to end his affair and to persuade Senator Ensign to repair the damage he had caused to his own marriage and the Hampton’s marriage. Had Senator Ensign followed Dr. Coburn’s advice, this episode would have ended, and been made public, long ago.
The claim that the affair would have “been made public” seems to conflict with Hampton’s description of Coburn’s role. A Coburn spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also, the Sun has posted a slideshow of shots of Hampton giving the interview, and a blog post called “Wooing Hampton,” about the paper’s efforts to get him to agree to the sit-down.
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