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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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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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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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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