Sen. John Ensign’s political career remains in a free-fall after admitting an affair. Ensign says "I am blessed to have a wife like Darlene who has found it in her heart to forgive me." There is no greater hyprocracy then Ensign fighting tooth and nail to deny others the right to be bound within the sancity of marrige, while he was violating the vows of his own marriage and showing a total disregard for that sacred union. Since Mr. Ensing has proven himself to be an adulterer and a hypocrate, it will be interesting how vocal he intends to be on the issue of marriage and particularly same-sex marriage going forward.
Wednesday, with his resignation from a top
Frustrated GOP leaders moved swiftly to distance themselves from the sex scandal, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accepting Ensign’s resignation as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee.
Yet there are several lingering questions over the Nevada Republican’s
After making a public apology Tuesday,
Ensign stayed away from Capitol Hill and made no public appearances Wednesday. He has yet to fully disclose the extent of his romantic relationship with his former campaign staffer, 46-year-old Cynthia Hampton, which aides say took place between December 2007 and August 2008.
The senator has yet to publicly explain the circumstances of the resignations of Hampton and her husband, Doug, from Ensign’s
staff last year during the affair. The two left his staff in the spring of 2008, even though the affair carried on for months after their departure. Questions continue to linger over why Ensign came forward Tuesday — nearly a year after the relationship ended — whether his admission followed an attempt to extort money from him and if the Hamptons’ departure from his staff was related to the affair.
If Doug Hampton was removed from his office to cover up the affair, "that’d be a big problem," said Melanie Sloan, head of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
An
attorney representing the Hamptons issued a statement late Wednesday confirming that Cynthia Hampton was the woman with whom Ensign had an affair.
"It is unfortunate the senator chose to air this very personal matter, especially after the Hamptons did everything possible to keep this matter private,"
attorney Daniel Albregts said. "It is equally unfortunate that he did so without concern for the effect such an announcement would have on the Hampton family. In time the Hamptons will be ready and willing to tell their side of the story."
Rumors of another Ensign affair surfaced Wednesday when The Associated Press cited an anonymous source who said Ensign had a relationship with another former aide in 2002 before he took a two-week leave of absence to deal with a personal family matter. An Ensign aide strongly denied the report.
For Republicans still reeling from last year’s election and eager to spotlight their message in advance of big summer battles on the Hill, the Ensign drama was unwelcome news.
This is the third sex scandal that McConnell has had to deal with since he became GOP leader, and the first to befall a member of his leadership team. Former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was involved in a men’s room sex sting in 2007, and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) was implicated in a prostitution scandal in the same year.
The swift movement by Republicans — with Ensign’s consent — to clear him out of leadership was a sign that Senate Republican
Conference now has "zero tolerance" for this kind of scandal at a time when the party is struggling to rebuild, several aides said Wednesday.
"He’s accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents," McConnell said in a statement. "He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman of the Policy Committee."
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