Ensign’s Senate Colleagues Confronted Him about His Affair in February 2008
The Las Vegas Sun has posted the letter John Ensign’s cuckold, Doug Hampton, sent Fox News not long before Ensign admitted his affair. In it, he reveals there was a confrontation over the affair in February 2008 that Tom Coburn attended.
The unethical behavior and immoral choice of Senator Ensign has been confronted by me and others on a number of occasions over this past year. In fact one of the confrontations took place in February 2008 at his home in Washington DC (sic) with a group of his peers. One of the attendee’s (sic) was Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma as well as several other men who are close to the Senator. Senator Ensign’s conduct and relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal in April of 2008. I would like to say he stopped his heinous conduct and pursuit upon our leaving, but that was not the case and his actions did not subside until August of 2008.
No wonder the Republicans don’t really want to talk about this–they’ve known about it for over a year. Here’s what Coburn had to say:
Reporters mobbed Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who shares an apartment with Ensign on Capitol Hill. "I’m not answering any Ensign questions," he announced. "You can ask all you want."
"You don’t have any thoughts?"
"I don’t have any thoughts."
"Have you had a chance to talk about it?"
"I’m just not going to comment."
Finally, Coburn was badgered into making a defense. "He is a bright young man," the senator said of his 51-year-old colleague. "Lots of people make mistakes."
Also in the letter, Hampton describes his fears that efforts to pursue justice in this matter may put his family "in harm’s way."
The actions of Senator Ensign have ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles. We have lost significant income, suffered indescribable pain and emotional suffering. We find ourselves today with an overwhelming loss of relationships, career opportunities and hope for recovery. Our pursuit of justice continues to place me and my family in harm’s way as we fear for our well being (sic).
Ut oh–this is Las Vegas this guy is talking about.
Hampton talks about a lot more details in this affar–I wonder who Hampton is going to give the exclusive to for that story?
Well, Fox News didn’t seem to be a good choice, maybe someone else this time…..
Almost feel sorry for Hampton, but he is a dope.
Ok, maybe I just don’t get Republican infidelity issues, but if Hampton was trying to put an end to the affair, wouldn’t he be talking to his wife about it rather than Ensign? I don’t get this at all. Hampton seems perfectly happy to cash in on his connections to the Senator. Is it me or is the moral compass of this entire group like the one in Pirates of the Carribean — it only points in the direction of treasure.
They are Republicans, after all.
LOL — this has been another presentation from Stating the Obvious Political Theater. Join us next week when our Intrepid Lovelorn Senator decries his ill treatment is due to the unrelenting harassment of the Liberal Media ; )
Unless it was sexual harassment rather than an affair.
Maybe they were all swingers at first and bad blood in business came later.
Nothing I have read so far suggests that that was the dynamic. Even if it was, she appears to have preferred to use it to the economic advantage of her family rather than file a complaint. So no, I’m not buying the harassment angle.
How do you know that he didn’t try to work things out with his wife, without success, and in desperation made this move to contact Fox, known for the sleaze coverage, so an apt choice if you ask me.
Yup. Go to the one networks whose job it is to quash stories like this. Has Fox even reported on it yet?
He needs a media consultant. Should have gone to KO right from the start.
So, many a his colleagues knew about this for over a year, nobody did anything about it, and apparently Ensign didn’t take a hint and prepare for the disclosure. Sheesh!
As for Hampton, does he know the CIA is hiring. Oops, he’s in the wrong field:
CIA seeks laid-off bankers in recruitment drive
NEW YORK (Reuters) – “Laid off from Wall Street? The CIA wants you — as long as you can pass a lie detector test and show that you are motivated by service to your country rather than your wallet.
The Central Intelligence Agency has been advertising for recruits and will be holding interviews on June 22 at a secret location in New York.
‘”Economics, finance and business professionals, if the quest for the bottom line is just not enough for you, the Central Intelligence Agency has a mission like no other,” one radio advertisement for the agency says.
http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/…..ent-drive/
Why banksters? Why not laid-off auto workers? Ya think?
Apparently the kid who was just arrested for gutting neighborhood cats was trying to find a way to show he was motivated by service to his country.
Now that we know “motivated by service to country” means being willing to kidnap children, sit safe while directing drones to bomb Pakistani families, stripping, hooding, sodomizing, drugging, taking family members hostage and threatening (or more) rape, torture and death of family, live burial etc. it is easy to see how the financial industry will be a hot recruiting ground.
Hampton sounds like a Repug-true-believer — he wants to punish Ensign without trashing the party. Maybe he thinks anybody ever falls for it when Faux magically turns R’s into D’s?
Actually, he probably told Ensign to pay up or he’d go to the press; Ensign called his bluff, so he went to Faux to prove his threat?
But how did the LV Sun get the letter?
First, to gloat. I posted a comment about Ensign and Doug and Cynthia Hampton right here on EW’s Chris Ward Story FDL back in February 2008!!
http://emptywheel.firedoglake……ment-51598
Any chance my comment and the February 2008 “confrontation” are connected? [Probably not.]
Anyway, that confrontation in front of Coburn, the NRCC embezzlement scandal and Ward’s retirement may be coincedental timing – or there may be more to it.
Ward was the treasurer of Ensign’s Battle Born PAC. Ward was replaced by Hampton.
Ward was the treasurer of the (Republican) Senate Majority Committee, headed by Ensign. Ward was replaced by Hampton.
And, of course, Ward was the treasuer of the NRCC (his primary embezzlement dipping well). Ward was briefly replaced by the incumbent assistant treasurer, but in June 2008 was replaced by Lisa Lisker, a partner in the DC based powerhouse firm Huckaby Davis Lisker.
What’s interesting is that after the Hamptons left DC “for medical reasons”, Ensign’s Battle Born PAC made Lisa Lisker treasurer.
Any chance that Ensign (or the Hamptons) were personally plugged into the embezzlement scandal? There sure are a lot of common players here.
One other tidbit.
Doug Hampton’s post-Ensign employers, the Vegas-based ex-Ensign staff-headed political consulting firm November Inc, counts among its staff Mike and Lindsey Slanker. Before leaving DC, the Slankers were involved in the $$ side of the NRSC.
Anyway, Lindsey Slanker is (was?) on the board of directors of the NV 501c3 nonprofit “A Hand Up.” Along with other Nevadans.
Guess who else was on the board of “A Hand Up”. Barbara Bonfliglio. PAC treasurer to the stars. That is before she abruptly disappeared after the Tom DeLay scandals.
And is it odd that an Ensign political fundraising event somehow turned into a fundrasier for “A Hand Up?” Where Members of Congress got to drive race cars? That just doesn’t sound right.
http://thehill.com/under-the-d…..05-26.html
All very fascinating, C92.
Which might explain why Hampton claims he’s afraid for his family’s well-being. And might explain why he tried to extort money all quiet like, through Fox and not MSNBC.
Which goes back to rincewind’s question: how did the Sun get the letter.
Stating the obvious, but it seems pretty clear to me that (someone at) FOX decided to tip off Ensign instead of running with the story.
Any details on how Hampton tried to send along his note? General web comments form? Did he have Megyn Kelly’s email address?
And was Hampton really looking for FOX to pay him a bribe to stay quiet? Or did FOX ask for a bribe from Senator Ensign to stay quiet? Oh, the possibilities are endless!
It does have a street address, but no fax or email in the address of the letter.
Do people still use snail mail?
Not to nitpick, but you’d think that a Washington guy who was the number 2 (or 3) in a Senator’s office as well as the VP for Governmental Affairs would know proper punctuation and sentence structure.
Doug Hamtpon’s “unsigned” letter as it appears in the Sun is written as if he dictated it to someone, who then didn’t do a proof. Or maybe that someone got the first copy. Does he have a secretary?
(I feel a timeline coming on).
And wouldn’t it be just great if FOX somehow could be implicitly involved in a plot to extort or blackmail a Senator? Now that would be news!
My favorite is when he talks about how much he respects Megyn Kelly’s collages:
My only regret is he didn’t use that malapropism when he was referring to the February 2008 confrontation, because I already had the “Collage Confrontation” headline written and had to change it.
“He is a bright young man,”
Well that explains it. These were mere youthful indiscretions, within the Henry Hyde definition of youth.
EW it was great to meet you, however briefly, at the Hillman awards.
If Faux was sitting on it (which they did as far as airing or publishing anything), how carefully-held would the letter have been? (how many Faux employees with access would have been able AND willing to sell/give it to the Sun?) And it appears to be an exclusive to the Sun — I’d think lots of other media could have outbid the Sun for it if that was how it was obtained?
Alternatively — with Faux sitting on it, maybe Hampton gave it to the Sun himself?
The Sun says this about getting the letter:
No indication when the spokesman wrote the email, or when the “hours before” was… Did the Sun go to Hampton asking about the spokesman’s “major TV news channel” claim, so Hampton finds out that Ensign is blowing it wide open, and gives it to the Sun out of spite? (and does “unsigned copy” mean it wasn’t what Faux got?)
Plus Hampton’s lawyer issuing a statement on Wed (5 days after the letter’s date) that said:
So going to Faux is doing everything possible to keep it private — but after Ensign “blabbed”, Hampton gave it to the Sun?
Here’s my guess.
Somehow this letter got back to the Slankers and November Inc. Maybe Doug wrote a draft of it on their computer network when he was ‘working’ there. Maybe FOX routed it to them since November (as a landing pad for ex-Ensigners) could be ‘trusted’ as an intermediary without going directly to the Senator.
And the Slankers, with their Las Vegas-based business, are probably closest to the Las Vegas Sun.
I think the Slankers had an axe to grind. I think that Hampton and “the situation” was foisted upon them, by the Senator, for them to deal with. And I think they were threatened with being cut off from future Ensign $ if they didn’t comply.
Doug Hampton didn’t last long at November Inc. That would have been the perfect place to be parked – flush with PAC $$. But something didn’t work out, and he had to find a job elsewhere (with help).
will Fox claim they approached Ensign “for confirmation of the allegations”?
FOX was doing a public service reporting the attempted extortion to the victim, who was not yet aware of it. Makes you wonder how many other aggrieved conservative spouses have run to FOX instead of “liberal Republican-hating media outlets” only to see their schemes be revealed.
I’m thinking that on Wed when the lawyer put out the statement, they still thought Faux had spiked the letter (which argues that Faux never contacted the Hamptons?) and it could stay hidden? But then the Sun comes sniffing around about the “major TV news channel” part of the story and Hampton takes that as a shot across the bow (which it was) and tries to preempt Ensign by giving the letter to the Sun?
The Sun website’s timestamp on the lawyer’s statement is Wed 2:47 pm; a story on Thu timestamped 1:50 pm has the spokesman’s email about the “major TV news channel” and says the Sun was “trying to reach the Hamptons’ attorney today for comment”; the timestamp on the article about the letter (and the posting of the letter itself) is Fri 2:00 am.
So Faux gave Ensign the heads-up some time between Thu the 11th and Tue the 16th but otherwise did nothing, and Hampton gave the Sun the letter Thu night (the 18th)?
Tom Coburhn: “I don’t have any thoughts.”
See? You guys were all wrong: Coburn can tell the truth, even if it’s only by accident.
Irony?
Truth, Accountability and Courage PAC. http://www.tacpac.org/
Yep, that’s Tom Coburn’s PAC.
It appears many Repugs were influenced by too many viewing hours of Dallas and Dynasty in their younger years.
(Madness!)
(Klynn shakes head and declares to self, “Why am I not surprised?”)
Citizen92 – nice insights and connecting the dots.
OT- No perjury charges for Burris.
Burris is slimy and lame, but they never had him solid enough to prosecute. It is the Senate ethics that ought to be after him, but they are too worried about tarnishing themselves and violating their own version of the police Blue Line.
My Burris prediction holds: He will have a short, undistinguished career in the senate and will wisely choose not to run for election. They won’t impeach him. He has no shame, so they can’t force him to resign.
Perhaps the GOP on the ethics committee will force a censure (certainly Burris deserves it), but that’s it.
Boxturtle (Score: Burris/Blago 7, everybody else 0)
Back to Froomkin: it gets worse.
As Post fires liberal columnist, Bush war architect gets ink
BY JOHN BYRNE Published: June 19, 2009 Updated 28 minutes ago
”On Thursday, the Washington Post confirmed it had fired liberal online columnist Dan Froomkin. On Friday, they gave a guest column to Bush war architect Paul Wolfowitz.
”To be fair, Wolfowitz isn’t being paid, and his column is a guest editorial. But the paper’s promotion of a man who was a key architect of President George W. Bush’s policy on Iraq — and one of its most ardent hawks — is sure to raise eyebrows among the liberals and those critical of the Post’s coverage in the run-up to the Iraq war.”
http://rawstory.com/08/news/20…..wolfowitz/
Obviously, a well-planned “changing of the guard”, intended to signal to the Reichwing that the Post’s allegiance is clear and unwavering. The Post has become such a propaganda tool, it should pay its readers rather than the other way round.
The post and the times should merge……..since they apparently have already. Save a lot of trees.
Things do kind of merge when you flush them down the toilet.
A question of degree. Hiatt is in front by a brown nose.
The Times is struggling with its identity, but leans toward preempting the competition by being schizophrenically as conservative as Murdoch’s WSJ.
Between his grammar, punctuation and toadiness, Hampton demonstrates why so many Republicans fare poorly at producing effective legislation. Incompetents hiring incompetents… with the only qualification apparently that he has an attractive wife.
That his colleagues sat on the story is no more surprising than the fact that Fox News did likewise, thereby completing the circle of incompetence & toadiness. I can only assume this is the inevitable result of the torment of their middle school years where they were endlessly wedgied for being so annoyingly dumb.
When I first read this story, my first thought was why in the world would a GOP staffer run to FOX for help against a sitting GOP senator?
The fellow had to know that fox was simply a tool and that it’s first instinct would be to protect the senator.
Then I read the actual letter. Which says as much about our school system as it does about the writer. An tat xplain everthin.
Boxturtle(Good lord fellow, doesn’t your computer have a spell checker?)
I think he did it bc he knew Fox would give Ensign the heads up on the QT and that would open a door for Ensign to approach him to make it all right with $$
Both Nevada and Las Vegas are predominately Mormon. Sex outside of their definition is a real no-no for their children and non-gaming politicians. These prohibitionists have a lot in common with the values apparatus across the Bible Belt
Many of these elder Republicans believe in Ronald Reagan and John Wayne as larger than life heros. They counseled Ensign just like they would have counseled one of their fellow parishioner. But they don’t know the bright lights make them look like accomplices. Covering up for someone violating one of their “core” tenants — thou shalt not commit adultery. Ouch.
The religion of fundamentalism, Ronald Reagan and John Wayne is no longer invincible in daylight or on the internet. And they never learned the art of compromise. Ouch.
“I don’t have any thoughts.”
Truer words are rarely spoken.
On to the evident stupid/ignorant at the keyboard for the letter. I suspect a couple things are at work.
1. A corollary to a principle I shared with EW the other day: “getting votes uses the same skills as getting laid. Which is why we have stupid congresscritters who can’t keep it in their pants.” By way of counterexample, when was the last time you ran into a congresscritter all angst-ridden about being unable to get a date, much less laid? About as often as one who worried about not getting votes – they know how to do the latter and the former, too. The corollary is “the skill and intellect of the subordinates to congresscritters increases in direct proportion to how far down the totem pole they are from the critter.” In other words, the smartest people in the office are likely the secretaries and the interns, and the chief of staff is closest to the critter in intellect – and in getting-laid skills.
2. This guy is one of the truest believers. They are the easiest to dupe, and the last to drop their dupedom. Thus, his belief that Fox would do right by him to help straighten out a wayward Rethug. Or, maybe he had a thing for the reporter and figured tossing her a story (which might be more valuable to her, careerwise, if not reported on air) would be a good way to meet up.
3. Snail mail is stil useful. Sending it that way would not involve having it show up in an email archive somewhere.
4. He don’t do typing or proofreading – he’s gotten accustomed to having someone take his dictation and clean it up for him.
Just out of curiousity, what skills do these pols bring to getting laid? (I’m thinking maybe I should try being stupid and dishonest.)
These rancid public prigs and private pigs have beaten us over the head for years, telling us that personal behavior is all about character and character counts.
The second they get caught with their pud in the mistress or page boy they scream, privacy please!
Tiresome, the whole bunch of ‘em.
-G
Fox news denies tipping off Ensign.
From Loo Hoo’s link:
Raises more questions than it answers, really.
Heh, yeah, like “who rang up Ensign”?
Was that a booker or a hooker?
There’s a difference?
Who knew?
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. (Unless you’re a visitor – it’s the most digitally monitored and recorded town in America.) But it has a tradition of taking care of its own in a James Ellroy novel-like fashion.
Tough to have your own hypocritical shit flying back in your face.
blowjobs, extra marital affairs being examined closely…but false pre-war intelligence hundreds of thousands dead as a direct consequence…you can take a walk
So the rethug senators knew about Ensign’s hypocracy and elected him to a leadership position. Speaks very highly of the whole lot of them.
Simple question for Ensign: how did you find out that a television network had been contacted by your cuckold?
What does Mrs Coburn think about her husband rooming in DeeCee with someone who’s been unfaithful?
Rumor has it one would be hard-pressed, so to speak, to find a roommate on Capitol Hill or G’town who hadn’t. Logan Circle, celibate or loyal; Dupont Circle, open season. Or so the free paper tells me.
(*Not knowing Jane’s neighborhood – my guess, not Cleveland Park – I apologize in advance for any libel.)
None of those neighborhoods.
Relief.
IIRC Jane’s in Maryland.
Nope, not that neighborhood either.
He’s a Republican. No harm no foul. Business as usual in the bought and sold Congress.
Any ideas where Doug Hampton lived in DC when he commuted between Las Vegas and the Nation’s Capitol.
Did he bunk in the Coburn-Ensign apartment?
Oh now, that would be hard. I tried to have a fling with the roommate of a former fling of mine in college without the first fling finding out, or my roommate who had had a fling with the second fling.
It was very difficult. I gave up trying. It wasn’t worth it.
The Hill regularly writes up Capitol Hill “rooming with” stories, so was just wondering if it might already be out there. They once covered the fact that ex-Speaker Hastert owned a 1 bedroom in Southwest DC that he shared with his Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff and one other guy. Mrs. Hastert did not frequent the place.
And I found it odd that the property tax bills for Hastert’s DC place were actually being sent to his ‘Director of Speaker Operations’ home address up in Adams Morgan. But I digress.
I searched and the Hamptons didn’t own property in DC (city). Neither do the Ensigns. Neither do the Coburns. At least under their own names. Any ideas who owns the Coburn-Ensign pad? Or are they renters?
Hell–they’re not part of The Family, are they?
Interesting thought….
I never read the book on The Family, but did read the Harper’s Article.
I chased my tail on trying to connect Members to various apartments but didn’t get very far. I think that article does mention a Fellowship-owned apartment building steps away from the Capitol, so you may be right. That would certainly throw the Fellows for a loop if the adultery happened there!
The closest I got was that Brownback owns a place in a 5-unit DC Hill building. Other owners include “From The Father With Love” prayer group as well as a company connected with Dallas-based Dr. James Leininger who is a GOP stalwart. Tom DeLay’s ARMPAC had also operated from that building for some time, before they moved over to the other townhouse which was eventually sold (at discount) to ex-Rep Jim Ryun. Ryun lost the ‘06 election b/c of it.
And sure enough, right there in that article!
I bet Ivanwald is all aflutter!
The book provides this list:
Brownback
Domenici
Grassley
Inhofe
Coburn
Thune
Enzi
Ensign
Bill Nelson
Mark Pryor
Frank Wolf
Zach Wamp
Mike McIntyre
Yes, in fact they are.
The book says this:
That might explain why Doug Hampton’s letter refered to Ensign’s DC “home” in the letter rather than the “apartment” that the reporters were badgering Coburn about.
I chalked up the home/apartment thing to Hampton’s inarticulateness.
That would also suggest that there could have been many many more around to witness those “confrontation” proceedings.
Do you have a link to the reporters badgering Coburn?
And yeah–I get the felling that Hampton may have been trying to implicate more than just Coburn with his “group of his peers.”
Is Hampton suggesting “a group of (Ensign’s) peers” and Mrs. Hampton, ensemble?
Just checked with Jeff Sharlet. He was “there” (checking if that means, living there) in 2002 or 2003. So yes, it may well be the Family’s Residence for members of Congress.
“He is a bright young man.” Youthful indescretion for the repubs.
For dems. it is sin. Sin I tell you.
did ensign have an opinion on the Clinton Impeachment ???
I’m wondering how the goose reacted when the gander was in the pot
I’m thinkin that ensign was of the opinion that Bill should crawl away in shame
It’s going to be real easy to toss this criminal fucker overboard if he did say that Clinton should resign
Monica Lewinski wasn’t married, so her husband couldn’t have been employed by Bill
ensign has a REAL problem here
huge opinion. Last night I heard Chris Matthews say “no one is perfect” in regard to the Ensign story. Matthews ripped Clinton a big one during his extra marital affair scandal fed and fueled by the Republican’s for two f–ing years.
Members of the prayer group listed here
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc…..en-hillary
Ah, in my own damn post. I see it.
Yep, that was your link to Milbank’s sketch. It’s not attributed, so Milbank seems to be interjecting his own knowledge about the apartment.
Ensign called for Clinton to resign. He is also a member of a family values group that promotes fidelity. Not unlike Newt Gingrich who was ranting and raving about Clinton while he was having an affair with a staffer.
If Hampton is concerned about his safety..maybe the reason he went public.
Do you have to work in DC to be in the “family?”
I have heard my gov in Maine is in the “family.” He is a democrat and nothing to be proud of. Also Hillary Clinton is a member.
Here’s a link for Hillary and The Family:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080331/ehrenreich
Wow, I hadn’t known this about Hillary, thanks!
I was born and raised in DC. Dupont Circle was the subject of local gossip when I was a kid. My dad was a musician and played for various parties there.
I can’t help thinking that the Ensign story is a bright shiny object. Yes, it typifies the corruption and hypocrisy that has become the hallmark of the Washington Establishment, but it isn’t even a blip on the screen compared to the wholesale looting of the government going on by banks or attempts by the insurance, medical, and drug companies to do much the same with healthcare.
The Ensign story is important only for how much it isn’t a story for the Washington elites, how it would be easier to list those not screwing around or engaged in other dubious activities than those who are, or how anyone thinks that Ensign only waited until he was 50 to start banging someone other than his wife. What surprises me is how much we still buy into the standard narrative. Somehow we continue to suppose that these same people who are totally crazy and out of control in their public lives aren’t the same way in their private ones. Of course they are.
My dad took me to gigs all the time. “Oh, that’s Herb’s boy.” I grew up hearing that. This was the 50s and public figures were just as lecherous then as they are today. Husbands and wives both. Husbands weren’t the ones looking for young men, though. At least not in sight of anyone.
Spencer’s latest post, “House Voting On Iran Resolution; Human Rights Activist Not Against It, But…”, is up on the front page for our perusal.
Back to the cesspool.
Namaste
Any members of the FOX News Team in “the Family.” Ailes? Heck, what’s a tip among “Family” members, huh?
Jane is upstairs at the Mothership!
Invest in Good Reporting — Donate to the Marcy Wheeler Fund
Wow, Don Surber completely deleted his “Fox News made Ensign come clean” blog post.
The title is still up on “Memorandum”
I’ve never seen any blogger do this.
Google, “Fox News made Ensign come clean”
That how Republicans and Fox News deal with embarrassments to Republicans… OMISSION.
He updated it, with a new toned-down title Did Fox News push Ensign?
it’s rather amazing ..imo .. that a person with such poor writing and grammar skills found employment at the level this guy ended up .. maybe ensign was after his wife the whole time …
fatster….thanks for the link re. Hillary and the family. I have a lot more respect for her from reading it. I can see why she was chosen for SOS. You did me a favor ..I have resented her for a long time. It is nice to be able to let that go.