Last night, Nightline aired its full interview with Doug Hampton, about the amazing circumstances surrounding the affair between Hampton’s wife Cindy and his former boss, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).
Some of the best stuff trickled out early, but there are still a few good new nuggets. For instance:
Hampton said he hasn’t been contacted by the Senate Ethics committee, which over a month and a half ago confirmed that it’s probing the matter. Since Hampton is so central to the charges against Ensign, that news would suggest the Ethics committee isn’t exactly moving swiftly. A spokesman for the committee did not immediately respond to TPMmuckraker’s request for comment. (Hampton added that he also has not been contacted by criminal investigators, who may or may not be conducting their own investigation. Politico reported last week that DOJ officials “signal that the case is a low-priority matter for them.”)
- Hampton went further than he yet has in talking about Ensign’s role in lining up clients for him, after setting him up as a lobbyist — a clear violation of ethics laws. Hampton described Ensign as telling him: “Hey, I talked to so and so, call him.”
- And not only did Hampton say it was “crystal clear” that the $96,000 paid by Ensign’s father to the Hamptons was severance, not a gift, he bolstered that case by showing Nightline what he said were his contemporaneous notes on the episode. Hampton had written: “Severance for Cindy,” and “Severance for Doug.”
Watch: