John Ensign

Sen. Ensign's Dad Withdraws Kansas Casino Bid

Rachel Slajda | August 19, 2009, 4:50PM

Mike Ensign, casino magnate and the father of Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), has reportedly dropped a casino proposal in Kansas.

The Associated Press reports that the group Ensign was working with, South Central Gaming Partners, decided to drop their proposal and instead back one by Foxwoods. The two firms had originally submitted competing proposals; now, Foxwoods' will go forward, along with that of a third developer.

An attorney for the Kansas Lottery, which is reviewing the proposals, said it was a business decision and that the lottery was not involved.

Mike Ensign and his wife were recently caught up in their son's scandal, admitting that they paid $96,000 to Sen. Ensign's mistress and her husband, both of whom worked for the senator. Mike Ensign earned around $300 million in the early 2000s when he sold his shares of the Mandalay Bay Group, which owned Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas.

A few weeks ago, lottery officials said there'd be an ethics investigation into Mike Ensign before his proposal could be approved.

But now, an official says it wasn't a concern for the Lottery.

"That's not an issue to us at all. There hasn't been any allegation of wrongdoing at all," said executive director Ed Van Petten.

John Ensign

Nevada GOP Rep: Ensign Should Answer Questions About Affair

Zachary Roth | August 13, 2009, 12:34PM

The pressure is growing for John Ensign to break his silence over his affair with a staffer who was his close friend's wife.

Rep. Dean Heller has become the first high-ranking Nevada Republican to call for the senator to address the numerous unanswered question about his torrid liaison with Cindy Hampton. Speaking in a televised interview to Las Vegas Sun political columnist Jon Ralston -- who has led the way in keeping the story in the spotlight -- Heller said: "I don't want to speculate, but until John talks, we haven't seen the end of it."

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John Ensign

Emails Show Santorum Was Tipped To Affair The Day Before Ensign Went Public

Zachary Roth | August 4, 2009, 12:53PM

The John Ensign story just won't go away -- and that's not good news for the Silver State philanderer.

Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun has obtained emails sent by Doug Hampton which show two interesting things:

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John Ensign

Sen. Ensign's Dad Could Lose Casino Project Over Scandal

Rachel Slajda | August 3, 2009, 10:48AM

Michael Ensign, the father of Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), may be finding his business deals threatened after he admitted to giving his son's mistress and her husband $96,000.

Ensign, a partner in a proposed casino in Kansas, may be asked to withdraw from the project if investigators find he violated campaign finance law.

The head of the Kansas Lottery told the Kansas City Star that the lottery will conduct its own ethics investigation into Ensign's involvement in the scandal, in addition to watching for the results of any federal investigations into Sen. Ensign and his parents.

"If it is found that there was wrongdoing, that would have an effect on things," said Ed Van Petten. That effect could include keeping Ensign out of the management of the casino, or asking him to withdraw altogether, he said.

Ensign was chairman of the board of the company that ran Vegas's Mandalay Bay Resort. He reportedly made about $130 million after orchestrating Mandalay's sale to MGM in 2005.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed an FBI complaint over the payment.

John Ensign

Ensign Communications Director Quits, Following Chief Of Staff

Rachel Slajda | July 24, 2009, 12:01PM

A second senior staffer for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) has resigned, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Ensign's office announced yesterday the departure of his communications director, Tony Mazzola.

The press release also announced the departure of chief of staff John Lopez, which we first heard about yesterday. He'll be replaced by Aaron Cohen, a health policy lobbyist with Kimbell & Associates and former Ensign staffer. Lopez will stay on through August as he "weighs options in the public sector," according to the release.

Mazzola will be replaced by Rebecca Fisher, who was Ensign's communications director at the Republican Policy Committee. Mazzola is leaving to be Northeast region press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He's from New England, the release said, and wants to return as he and his wife expect their first child.

Ensign's office also announced the return of Pam Thiessen, the senator's former policy director who left in January to work for the Republican Policy Committee. She will be returning as a senior policy adviser.

John Ensign

Ensign's Chief of Staff Quits

Rachel Slajda | July 23, 2009, 11:54AM

The chief of staff for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) is resigning, reports the Las Vegas Sun.

John Lopez has worked with Ensign since the mid-1990s. He was named chief of staff in 2006, replacing Scott Bensing.

But, as TPMmuckraker reported last month, Lopez had to split his chief of staff duties with Doug Hampton -- the husband of Ensign's mistress, Cynthia Hampton, who was also a former Ensign staffer. A source familiar with the situation told us that Lopez was less than pleased with the arrangement, which had him handling political and legislative work and Hampton running the Washington office and staff.

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John Ensign

CREW: DOJ Integrity Unit "Punted" On Ensign Complaint

Zachary Roth | July 20, 2009, 5:17PM

The Justice Department has responded to a formal complaint filed by a good-government group over the John Ensign matter by saying in a letter that the complaint should be filed with the FBI, rather than the department's public integrity unit, reports the Las Vegas Sun. And the good government group -- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) -- has itself responded to DOJ's bureaucratic fastidiousness with what we can only describe as a sassy retort that rubs salt in some recent DOJ wounds.

As requested, CREW has forwarded its complaint to the FBI. Executive Director Melanie Sloan writes:

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Sex

C Street Rebranding: GOP Cheaters Need Our Discreet Counseling!

Zachary Roth | July 20, 2009, 1:09PM

A little creative re-branding has worked wonders for the likes of Diddy (now back to Puff Daddy), Joe Lieberman, and the Volkswagen Beetle. So why not for C Street?

In recent weeks, the secretive Christian fellowship group, whose red-brick townhouse on Capitol Hill has for years served as an in-session dorm for religious lawmakers, has been getting some unwanted publicity. Thanks to its ties to three recent Republican sex scandals -- those of Nevada senator John Ensign, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, and former congressman Chip Pickering -- C Street has started to get a reputation as somewhere between a halfway house and frat house for conservative politicians looking to cheat on their wives while convincing themselves they're still upstanding guys.

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John Ensign

Hampton Didn't Disclose Payment From Ensign's Parents As Gift

Zachary Roth | July 16, 2009, 12:34PM

More bad news for John Ensign -- and perhaps his former buddy Doug Hampton too?

The Las Vegas Sun has taken a look at the Senate disclosure form that Hampton filed when he left Ensign's office -- he says he and his wife Cindy were terminated -- in spring 2008.

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John Ensign

WaPo Wants Senate And FEC To Probe Ensign Scandal

Zachary Roth | July 13, 2009, 5:30PM

The drip-drip of the John Ensign sex scandal continues...

Today the Washington Post editorial board calls, in its well-mannered way, for investigations by the Senate Ethnics committee and the Federal Election Committee into the payments, totaling $96,000, that, according to a statement from Ensign's lawyer, were made last year by the Nevada senator's parents to the Hampton family.

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Rick Santorum

Did Santorum Tip Off Ensign?

Zachary Roth | July 10, 2009, 4:26PM

A great nugget we missed from the portion of Doug Hampton's interview that aired last night...

Ever since the appearance last month of the famous letter Hampton wrote to Fox News -- asking for the network's assistance in exposing John Ensign's "relentless pursuit" of Hampton's wife Cindy -- there has been intense speculation that someone at Fox tipped off Ensign to the fact that Hampton was preparing to go public, prompting the Nevada senator to pre-emptively admit to the affair.

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John Ensign

Ensign: The Updated Timeline

Zachary Roth | July 10, 2009, 3:12PM

We've already published one timeline on the Ensign saga, but we figured that, what with the new revelations of recent days, it was worth compiling an updated one. So without further ado...

• Nov 2006: Ensign is easily reelected to the U.S. Senate from Nevada.

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Sex

More Ensign: Maddow Talks To Hampton Interviewer, And Expert On Christian Fellowship Group

Zachary Roth | July 10, 2009, 1:57PM

Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow had two important interviews on the John Ensign story that are worth checking out.

The first was with Jon Ralston, who himself interviewed Doug Hampton over the last few days.

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John Ensign

Hampton: Religious Buddies Drove Ensign To FedEx To Mail Letter To Cindy

Zachary Roth | July 10, 2009, 11:58AM

We're probably not going out on a limb by saying that Doug Hampton's entire televised interview about John Ensign's affair with Hampton's wife Cindy, and the fallout from it, had to have been pretty embarrassing for the Nevada senator, if he's even been able to bring himself to watch it.

But one particular narrative that Hampton lays out really brings out what seems like the utter pathetic-ness of a man who Republicans once talked about as presidential material -- as well as the strangely paternalistic culture of the religious organization with which he's affiliated. And it jibes with yesterday's news that Ensign went to his parents to pay off the Hamptons, painting a picture of a man who, despite being 51 years old and a powerful US senator, still seems strangely weak-willed and dependent on those around him.

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John Ensign

Ensign Still Bringing Dirty Laundry Home To Be Washed

Zachary Roth | July 9, 2009, 3:33PM

It looks like John Ensign's sexual dignity -- which hasn't been high lately -- has plunged to new depths. His lawyer has just released a remarkable statement saying that Ensign's parents paid the Hamptons $96,000 after the 51-year-old senator told his Mom and Dad about the affair.

The senator's father, Mike Ensign, is a casino mogul who sold his shares in the Mandalay Group for around $300 million earlier this decade.

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Tom Coburn

Coburn On Hampton Claims: "Ask What's the Motivation Here"

Zachary Roth | July 9, 2009, 3:05PM

It looks like when Tom Coburn denied today that he urged his friend John Ensign to pay restitution to the family of the woman he had an affair with, the Oklahoma senator wasn't speaking just to Roll Call (sub. req.). Rather, in a sign of the potential trouble the story could represent for Coburn, he appears to have given an impromptu press conference, in what's likely to be a failed effort to nip it in the bud.

Politico reports that, along with his denial, Coburn had some choice words for Doug Hampton.

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John Ensign

Coburn Denies That He Urged Ensign To Pay "Restitution" For Affair

Zachary Roth | July 9, 2009, 1:47PM

We just told you about Doug Hampton's allegation that Sen. Tom Coburn urged his friend Sen. John Ensign to pay "restitution" money to the Hamptons on account of Ensign's affair with Hampton's wife. And now Coburn is denying the claim.

Roll Call reports:

Coburn repeatedly denied allegations that he urged Ensign to pay Doug Hampton, the husband of his mistress Cynthia, millions in hush money following a confrontation with Hampton. "I categorically deny everything he said," Coburn said.

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John Ensign

UPDATED: Coburn Not Denying Claim That He Urged Ensign To Pay "Restitution" To Girlfriend's Family

Zachary Roth | July 9, 2009, 12:35PM

SEE LATE UPDATE BELOW

Doug Hampton's TV interview about his wife's affair with Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) is hardly a model of clarity. Hampton meanders away from some questions, jumps forwards and back in time, and seems, perhaps understandably, still to have trouble viewing the situation dispassionately.

But there's one point on which Hampton is particularly lucid. He clearly says that when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) confronted Ensign over the affair in February 2008, the Oklahoma senator urged Ensign to pay "restitution" to the Hamptons, including helping them to pay the mortgage on their $1.2 million house and to move out of state. And Coburn isn't denying it.

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John Ensign

Doug Hampton Breaks Silence On Wife's Affair With Ensign

Zachary Roth | July 8, 2009, 5:14PM

Doug Hampton has spoken publicly for the first time about his wife Cindy's affair with Sen. John Ensign. And it's good...

The highlights from Hampton's interview with Las Vegas Sun political columnist Jon Ralston:

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John Ensign

Did Ensign Hire Doug Hampton To Stop Himself From Having An Affair?

Zachary Roth | July 6, 2009, 3:38PM

We can't blame you if you'd almost forgotten about John Ensign. Since the GOP senator confessed last month to an affair, he's been unceremoniously knocked out of the headlines by the successive implosions of two other Republican 2012 hopefuls.

But the philandering Nevadan doesn't deserve to go gently into that good night just yet. And yesterday the Las Vegas Sun had a report on the relationship between Ensign and Doug and Cynthia Hampton -- the latter was Ensign's paramour from December 2007 until August 2008 -- which jibes in places with what we reported several weeks ago.

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John Ensign

Report: Fox Got Ensign Letter Three Days Earlier Than It Admitted

Zachary Roth | June 24, 2009, 6:50PM

Just as we were all getting sidetracked by one GOP sex scandal, there was an interesting development in another.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Fox News received Doug Hampton's bizarre letter -- about the affair between Hampton's wife Cindy and Sen. John Ensign -- three days earlier than the right-wing news channel had previously acknowledged.

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John Ensign

Revealed: The Sanford/Ensign Connection

Zachary Roth | June 24, 2009, 3:28PM

We couldn't help noticing during Mark Sanford's reality-show-style press conference that there's a tie-in between this week's GOP 2012 presidential contender sex scandal and last week's involving Sen. John Ensign.

Sanford said that in dealing with his affair, he'd been working with a group called "C Street," which he described as a "Christian bible study." He said he'd been part of the group when he lived in Washington as a congressman earlier this decade.

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John Ensign

Photo Of Ensign's Girlfriend Surfaces

Zachary Roth | June 23, 2009, 6:32PM

Maybe you're not interested in seeing a picture of John Ensign' former girlfriend, Cindy Hampton. If so, congrats.

But we are. And Inside Edition has finally dug one up.

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John Ensign

CREW Wants Ethics Probe Of Ensign Affair

Zachary Roth | June 23, 2009, 12:09PM

Could John Ensign face a Senate probe into the events surrounding his affair with a former staffer?

The government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has said it will file a complaint about the philandering Nevada lawmaker with the Senate Ethics committee, centering on whether either Cynthia Hampton or her husband Doug lost their jobs with Ensign because of the affair. Doug Hampton wrote in a letter to Fox News that the affair "led to our dismissal in April of 2008."

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John Ensign

Did A Shadowy Christian Group Help Keep Ensign's Secret?

Zachary Roth | June 22, 2009, 1:20PM

Senate Republicans, it's becoming clear, aren't exactly lining up to defend John Ensign.

Of course, that's not so surprising, given the damage that sex scandals have inflicted on the GOP in recent years. But could it be that the Ensign imbroglio poses a particularly thorny problem for some Republicans because, aside from the sex and jobs angle, the story threatens to shine an unflattering light on the role of the shadowy religious group to which the Nevada senator belongs?

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John Ensign

Ensign Lover's Hubby Wanted Money -- But Through His Lawyer

Zachary Roth | June 19, 2009, 6:28PM

Team Ensign is continuing to walk back its original claim that Doug Hampton, the husband of the senator's girlfriend, tried to extort Ensign.

As we've already noted, that was the line the Ensign camp put out in the early days of the scandal. For instance, FOXNews.com reported:

Two Senate Republican sources close to Sen. John Ensign of Nevada told FOX News that a former employee had asked Ensign for money in what both sources described as a case of "extortion."

But now, an Ensign spokesman tells the AP that within the last month Hampton made "exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits" through an attorney, and that the matter was referred to Ensign's lawyer.

In other words, Hampton threatened a lawsuit. Unless you've got an amazingly ham-handed lawyer, that's a far cry from extortion, which can be a felony. Had extortion occurred, Ensign's lawyer would presumably have had to contact law enforcement, and there's no evidence that happened.

The new lawsuit claim is consistent with the letter sent by Hampton to Fox News, in which Hampton wrote:

I have sought a number of lawyers who are having difficulty finding charges that may hold up in court. There are either technicalities that exist due to the time period in which I have sought help, or other nuances that quite frankly make no sense to me given the egregious acts and blatant abuse of power by Senator Ensign.

So it appears that when the lawsuit angle didn't work out, Hampton went to the media.

As for that whole extortion accusation, it looks like the Ensign camp is hoping everyone will just forget about it.

John Ensign

The Pics John Ensign Doesn't Want You To See

Zachary Roth | June 19, 2009, 5:47PM

Actually, he probably doesn't really care at this point.

Still, check out our slideshow of the key players in the scandal anyway.

John Ensign

Fox: We Didn't Tip Off Ensign About That Crazy Letter To Kelly

Zachary Roth | June 19, 2009, 1:31PM

Fox News has denied tipping off Sen. John Ensign after receiving that bizarre letter from Doug Hampton, in which Hampton asked for Fox anchor Megyn Kelly's help in exposing Ensign's affair with Hampton's wife Cynthia.

Tom Lowell, the senior producer of Kelly's show, has told the Huffington Post that a booker for the show did get Hampton's letter, via email, the day before Ensign went public about the affair. Lowell said a producer followed up with Hampton, but he seemed "evasive and not credible," so Fox didn't pursue it -- which, frankly, sounds reasonable.

But more importantly, Lowell said no one at Fox had let Ensign's camp know about the letter. "I categorically deny that we ever reached out to the senator in any way shape or form prior to him making his announcement," Lowell said.

So that still leaves a big mystery: Ensign has now said clearly that it was the threat to go to a TV news show that prompted him to go public. So how did Ensign know about that?

John Ensign

Timeline Suggests Ensign's Help For Hampton Was Hardly Routine

Zachary Roth | June 19, 2009, 12:31PM

So as we told you earlier today, Senator John Ensign has now admitted that he helped Doug Hampton, the husband of the senator's girlfriend, find employment after both Hamptons left Ensign's office. Ensign's office pointed out that he has done the same thing "for many other staff members." That's almost certainly true -- it's hardly unusual.

But a close look at the timeline of l'affaire Ensign makes a few things clear:

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John Ensign

Husband Of Ensign's Girlfriend To Fox's Kelly: Help Me Expose Senator's "Relentless Pursuit Of My Wife"

Zachary Roth | June 19, 2009, 9:48AM

OK, now the Ensign story is really getting good.

Yesterday we wrote about how Team Ensign is now saying that they went public about the affair because Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign's girlfriend, was threatening to go to a TV news station about it. We asked whether Ensign was now walking back an earlier claim -- which seemed to come from his camp -- that Hampton had tried to extort him.

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John Ensign

Ensign Admits He Helped Girlfriend's Husband Get Jobs

Zachary Roth | June 19, 2009, 9:22AM

The sex is looking like the least interesting aspect of the John Ensign story.

Ensign's camp has confirmed to the Associated Press that the Nevada senator helped Doug Hampton, his old friend and the husband of his girlfriend, to get a job after the affair ended and Hampton left Ensign's office.

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John Ensign

Ensign Has Close Ties To Second Firm That Employed Hampton

Zachary Roth | June 18, 2009, 4:10PM

The political consulting firm that reportedly employed Doug Hampton, the husband of Sen. John Ensign's former girlfriend, has extremely close ties to the philandering Nevada senator.

Politico previously reported Hampton had gone to work for November Inc., a Nevada political consulting firm "run by several former Ensign aides." But a closer look suggests just how tight Ensign and the firm were.

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