According to a lawyer for John Ensign, the US Senator who recently admitted to having an affair with a married campaign staffer, more than $100K was paid to the mistress by the Nevada Republican. The revelation comes on the heels of a report that fellow Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma counseled Ensign to assist Cynthia Hampton and her husband financially in paying off their $1,000,000-plus mortgage and move out of the state.
The payment took place as part of a "severance" when both Hampton and her husband left Ensign's staff, for which both had worked for a number of years. But the April 2008 payment of $96,000 total was broken up into eight disbursements of $12,000 each, conveniently missing the $12,500 threshold that elevates the misstep from a misdemeanor to a more serious criminal act with a five year federal prison sentence if an investigative panel determines that the payment represented an in-kind campaign contribution, rather than a gift. Ensign's lawyer, however, argues that the payout was simply "gifts out of concern for long-time family friends during a difficult time." Terming them "gifts" also allows Ensign to avoid having to report them to the Federal Election Commission.
Still, Ensign took even further caution in disbursing what some in Washington are calling "hush money" to the Hamptons: he didn't pay the funds directly from his bank account, but rather had his parents write 8 separate checks. Ensign's attorney insists that the Senator used his own funds, and not any campaign cash.
The painstaking steps Ensign took to ensure compliance with the black letter of the law are illuminating. It suggest Ensign not only knew that the payout blurred lines of law and ethics, but structured his conduct in a way that allowed him to achieve his ultimate goal of paying off the woman with whom he's admitted to carrying on an extramarital affair without crossing any legal lines.
In the end, albeit legally, Ensign paid off his mistress in exchange for her discretion.
He may not be forced to answer to a court of law or Senate Ethics Committee panel, but he will eventually face the Nevada electorate, which won't likely require quite as heavy a burden of proof. Ensign won't be up for reelection again until 2012.
The government watchdog group Citizens for Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed complaints with both the Senate Ethics Committee and the Federal Election Commission, asking for an investigation into the use of funds.
Senator Tom Coburn told reporters earlier today that he did not intend to divulge the specifics of his conversations with Ensign on the cash payouts, citing his role as an ordained minister and licensed physician to give privileged counsel as a spiritual advisor and doctor without having to testify to it. Coburn's current term expires in 2010, but the longtime Oklahoma legislator has not indicated whether or not he plans to seek reelection.
