Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

Ensign steps down

Resignation from the Senate caps a scandal that was ugly and drawn out

Republican Sen. John Ensign announced his resignation Thursday rather than face the Senate Ethics Committee’s continued investigation into his conduct. The investigation started soon after his admission nearly two years ago to an affair with an aide.

The affair, which launched investigations by the Ethics Committee, the Justice Department and the Federal Elections Commission, hampered Ensign’s effectiveness in the Senate. Once an up-and-coming Republican leader, he was pushed to the backbenches of the Senate after he announced the affair in June 2009.

Unlike other politicians who admitted to affairs, Ensign couldn’t move past it. The admission itself was shocking enough given Ensign’s adherence to family values and an evangelical Christian faith, but the details that emerged in the following months left Ensign a political pariah.

First, there was the sordid nature of the situation. The aide he had the affair with wasn’t just any staffer but Cynthia Hampton, the wife of his former chief of staff, Doug Hampton. And the Hamptons were personally close to Ensign and his wife — the couples had vacationed together and lived near each other in Las Vegas. The women went to high school together.

Then, there was the ugliness of Ensign’s hypocritical behavior. Colleagues living with Ensign at a house run by a Christian group confronted him more than once, demanding he end the relationship. Ensign was told to write a letter, ending the relationship, but after it was sent, he called her and told her to disregard it.

There were also questions about whether his actions related to the Hamptons’ employment were legal. After the Hamptons left their jobs, Ensign’s parents gave them nearly $100,000. Ensign called it a gift. Doug Hampton called it severance. Ensign also helped Doug Hampton land work as a lobbyist and directed clients to him. One watchdog group complained that Ensign violated campaign finance laws with the “gift” and lobbying laws by helping Hampton find work.

The Justice Department and the Federal Elections Commission investigated, but neither decided to pursue criminal charges against Ensign. (Adding insult to injury, the Justice Department did see fit to charge Doug Hampton with violating federal law regarding lobbying by former government employees.)

The Senate Ethics Committee was undeterred and recently brought in a former federal prosecutor to review the case. Ensign said he didn’t want to subject his family, constituents or the Senate to the ongoing investigation or potential public hearings. He did, however, say, “I stand behind my firm belief that I have not violated any law, rule or standard of conduct of the Senate.”

The timing of his resignation, which takes effect May 3, is curious. During a news conference last month to announce that he wasn’t running for re-election next year, Ensign showed little concern about the ethics investigation.

“If I was concerned about that, I would resign,” Ensign said, adding that a resignation would end it. “Resigning would be admitting guilt, and I did not do the things that they’re saying.”

The Senate Ethics Committee’s leaders, Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., issued a statement on Ensign’s resignation, saying “Sen. Ensign has made the appropriate decision.” Indeed. Ensign has brought disgrace to himself and his office in the way he handled things.

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