GOP Senator admits adultery with staffer.

[Ninong]

No, not Gavin Newsom. I said GOP senator, not San Francisco's mayor.

I've seen this movie before but the last two times it starred either Gavin Newsom or whatshisname, Elizabeth Edwards' husband. Whatshisname is finished for life. Gavin Newsom was not only re-elected to a second term as San Francisco's mayor with 80% of the vote, he's even running for governor now. And he's on his second wife, who is even younger and more beautiful than his first wife. Actually Gavin was already divorced from his first wife when he fooled around with the wife of his campaign manager, but she was married at the time so I guess it counts as adultery -- for her anyway. Was it adultery for him or just fornication?

John Edwards made the mistake of cheating on a wife who was suffering from cancer at the time. Sort of what Newt Gingrich did to his first wife, who also had cancer at the time. Then he cheated on his second wife, but she didn't have cancer at the time. Of course, while he was cheating on his second wife with the much younger staffer who would later become his third wife, he was leading the drive to impeach Bill Clinton for doing exactly what he, Newtie, was doing at the time. The classic definition of hypocrisy.

Gingrich is now one of the GOP's leading spokesmen, according to the media. Only the chunky junkie himself, Boss Limbaugh, is a more respected figure in the Republican Party. Gingrich is even toying with the idea of running for president. I guess he figures that if Rudy Giuliani can do it, why can't he.

So, who is this mystery Republican senator? It's none other than Sen. John Ensign, the senior junior senator from Nevada. The junior senator from governor of Nevada is the guy who got in trouble for getting drunk and beating up a hooker in that hotel parking lot. I believe his wife is divorcing him.

Ensign, 51, would not identify the woman but said she and her husband had been "close friends." Her husband, he said, also worked for him.

OMG! Was he banging the husband, too? Doesn't say in the article. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless you're a United States Senator.

Mrs. Ensign is doing the same stand-by-your-man routine we painfully witnessed with Mrs. Eliot Spitzer.

"With the help of our family and close friends, our marriage has become stronger. I love my husband."

Yeah, right. Much stronger, I'm sure.

[Cas]

Isn't Harry Reid the senior senator from Nevada?

[Ninong]

Isn't Harry Reid the senior senator from Nevada?

Yes, of course! Thanks for the correction.

The dude I'm thinking of is Jim Gibbons, who is the governor of Nevada, not the junior senator from Nevada. It's Jim Gibbons who gets drunk and beats up hookers.

[Ninong]

Sen. Ensign is a member of the Christian ministry group Promise Keepers. I believe adultery is one of the things they promise not to do. They're supposed to be big defenders of marriage.

Besides the affair he has just acknowledged, the AP is reporting a previous extra-marital affair with a different staffer back in 2002. Apparently this current affair came to a head because the husband of the woman who was carrying on with Ensign was demanding asking for money from Ensign to help them make their mortgage payments on the $1.2 million mortgage on their Las Vegas home. Ensign employed her and her husband on his staff and their 19-year-old son was hired as a "policy" expert on a Goppie committee chaired by Ensign. Shortly after the affair began, Ensign gave his paramour a promotion and a large raise he doubled her salary.

When the husband and son of Ensign's mistress left his employ, they were hired by a very close friend and backer of Ensign.

Sen. Ensign has been very outspoken in saying that anyone guilty of marital infidelity should resign their office. That's what he told President Bill Clinton following the Monica Lewinsky affair, which wasn't nearly as biblically correct as Ensign's affair. You might remember that Clinton was claiming that the nature of his encounters with Ms Lewinsky did not meet the biblical definition of sexual intercourse, which is why he felt justified in saying that he did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.

On the other hand, I'm sure that Sen. Ensign will be greeted at the next Goppie caucus luncheon with a loud, standing ovation just as Sen. David Vitter was after his little hooker problem.

Here is the Las Vegas house owned by Ensign's former girlfriend and her husband. Typical Las Vegas mini-McMansion. The inside is sparsely furnished in early 19th century whorehouse. Check out the tacky dining room set in the last slide. They're asking too much for it. Las Vegas real estate has fallen 50% over the past couple of years.

[Ninong]

Ensign Claims He Was Blackmailed

The husband of Sen. John Ensign's former mistress made "exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits."

Ensign described the Hamptons as "close friends." The couples were neighbors and their children went to school together.

Oops! That's another one of those commandments he broke -- the one about not coveting thy neighbor's wife.

On the bright side, he was definitely practicing the "love thy neighbor as thyself rule." He gave her a promotion, doubled her salary, hired her husband and hired their 19-year-old son as a "policy" expert on a GOP committee he chaired. Goppie family values in action.

Ensign is a moral absolutist. He has a 100% rating from the Christian Coalition. He claims to be a strong supporter of the sanctity of marriage. He has the same 100% rating from the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.

He's absolutely against abortion and stem-cell research. He believes in protecting the rights of zygote-Americans from the moment of conception. He has always held himself out as a defender of family values.

Let us never forget that this is the guy who called on President Clinton to resign from office because of the Monica Lewinsky thing, saying that if he ever found himself in a similar situation, that's what he would do.

Does this mean he will get kicked out of Promise Keepers? Nah! I think all those guys do is make a tearful confession, get a loud, standing ovation, and start all over again.

Among the seven promises of a Promise Keeper:

Promise 3
A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.

Promise 4
A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.

hy⋅poc⋅ri⋅sy
 
–noun, plural -sies.
1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

[Ninong]

FOX News Was Holding This Story

The only reason Ensign admitted his affair publicly was because he learned that his former mistress' husband had written a letter to FOX News detailing the affair. FOX News did nothing with the story. They concealed it. They're probably the ones who notified Ensign that Doug Hampton was going public with his charges. All of this was after Hampton's attorney had already sent a letter to Ensign making "exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits."

Ensign, 51, has admitted he and Cindy Hampton, 46, a former treasurer for his political funds, had an affair over nine months, from December 2007 to August 2008.

Subsequently, Ensign's office has charged that Doug Hampton, who worked as a top administrative aide to the Nevadan from November 2006 to May 1, 2008, had made an "outrageous" demand for cash and other financial benefits.

For his part, Doug Hampton, 47, pleaded for help from the Fox News Channel to expose Ensign. In a June 11 letter to anchorwoman Megyn Kelly, Hampton said Ensign's "relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal in April 2008."

"The actions of Senator Ensign have ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles," he said in the letter. The Hamptons through their attorney, Daniel Albregts of Las Vegas, have declined to talk further.

Meanwhile, a government watchdog group said Monday it was preparing to file a complaint against Ensign with the Senate Ethics Committee, which has jurisdiction to investigate "allegations of improper conduct that may reflect upon the Senate."

[...]

"Even if the affair was consensual, you wouldn't get to terminate somebody because she is no longer having sex with you, and you cannot terminate her husband," Sloan said.

[...]

Asked why he had made an accusation of extortion against Doug Hampton, Ensign said: "First of all, I never said that. Second of all, I have no more other comments to make. I refer you back to my statements I made in Las Vegas."

In describing the alleged demand for money by Hampton, Ensign aides did not use the term extortion.

Ensign's office used the term "outrageous" to describe the demands made by Mr. Hampton. Ensign's attorney described them as "exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits."

If that's not extortion or blackmail, then I don't know what is. Of course it's extortion if you make "exorbitant demands for cash" from a politician who is guilty of conducting a nine-month affair with your wife.

I think Ensign has several problems here. First, he promoted his mistress and doubled her salary not on the merits but because she was sleeping with him. He even hired her 19-year-old son as a "policy" expert on a senate committee he chaired. Then he "dismissed" all three of them after the affair was over but he got one of his big financial backers to hire the husband and son.

All of that violates senate rules. And this is the guy who said that if he ever found himself in a situation like Bill Clinton's, he would resign. Well, what are you waiting for?

[Ninong]

Oh, Boy!!!

Doug Hampton, the husband of Sen. John Ensign's former mistress went on TV and spilled the beans.

He produced a hand-written letter Ensign sent his wife telling her that he had committed a serious sin and that they needed to discontinue their relationship. That letter was written in the presence and at the urging of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). Hampton said that two days after that letter was written, Ensign resumed the affair with his wife and it continued for another six months.

Hampton claims that it was Sen. Coburn who urged Ensign to give the Hamptons enough money to pay off their $1.2 million mortgage and move to Colorado.

You see, Ensign and Coburn lived together in a Christian Fellowship House at 133 C Street in D.C. when they were in the capital away from their home states. It was Coburn and some of the Christian Fellowship counselors there who urged Ensign to end his "sinful" affair and pay off the family to shut them up. This is the same Christian Fellowship group that Gov. Mark Sanford credited with helping him with his marital problems, and we all know how that turned out.

Here is a copy of that hand-written letter.

There has been absolutely no comment from any of the Republican Party leadership on this new development. Not a peep.



P.S. -- You might remember that both Doug Hampton and his wife worked on Ensign's Senate staff. (Correction: Cindy was actually a bookkeeper for Ensign's political action committees; her husband, Doug, was Ensign's chief of staff.) Ensign also got a job with a Republican committee that he chaired for their 19-year-old son. He was hired as a policy expert. The Ensigns and the Hamptons had been long-time nextdoor neighbors in Nevada. Their kids attended school together.

When the affair finally did break up, Ensign dismissed Doug Hampton and the 19-year-old "policy expert" but he got both of them jobs with one of his wealthy supporters. A couple of months later, he dismissed his former mistress, too, paying her more than $25,000 in severance pay.

[Ninong]

Y Mucho Mas! As they say in the commercials on Telemundo.

Holy Crap! Sen. John Ensign's parents paid $96,000 to the Hamptons just because they like them so much. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that their son was trying to hush up his affair because it's common practice for the parents of Republican senators who are having extra-marital affairs to give $96,000 to the family of the mistress after they learn of the affair. Happens all the time.

Here is the official statement from Ensign's attorney:

In April 2008, Senator John Ensign's parents each made gifts to Doug Hampton, Cindy Hampton, and two of their children in the form of a check totaling $96,000. Each gift was limited to $12,000. The payments were made as gifts, accepted as gifts and complied with tax rules governing gifts.

After the Senator told his parents about the affair, his parents decided to make the gifts out of concern for the well-being of long-time family friends during a difficult time. The gifts are consistent with a pattern of generosity by the Ensign family to the Hamptons and others.

None of the gifts came from campaign or official funds nor were they related to any campaign or official duties. Senator Ensign has complied with all applicable laws and Senate ethics rules.

Paul Coggins
Fish & Richardson P.C.

Counsel for Senator John Ensign

P.S. -- Let us not forget that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) urged Ensign to pay millions of dollars to the Hamptons to get rid of them.

Even more proof that GOP "Family Values" are really, really strange, especially their view of "traditional marriage."

P.P.S. -- Mike Ensign, the senator's father, is a casino mogul who sold his shares in the Mandalay Group for around $300 million earlier this decade.

[Ninong]

This is either really funny or really sad. Probably both.

Just when you thought you had seen everything when it comes to the "Family Values" of the fundamentalist Christian wing of the Republican Party, they hit you with something really, really hilarious. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn is claiming that he is Sen. John Ensign's personal physician and his religious adviser. He left out travel consultant and menu planner.

From the Washington Post

Yesterday, Coburn told the Roll Call newspaper that he would refuse any attempts to compel him to testify in court or at the Senate ethics committee about his role. Coburn, an obstetrician, claimed a legal privilege against such testimony as his physician and religious adviser.

[Ninong]

Disregard That Letter: They Made Me Do It

Sen. Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and some of the other Christian counselors at that Christian Fellowship House on C Street coerced Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) into writing that letter to Cindy Hampton. Coburn helped him compose it. Then they insisted that it be sent FedEx and they drove Ensign to the FedEx place and watched him send it.

As soon as Ensign got back, he called Cindy and told her to ignore the letter he had been forced to write. He told her they made him do it. He and Cindy were back together within 24 hours. The affair continued for another six months.



Trivia: Sen. Ensign is currently the only veterinarian in the U.S. Senate.

If Ensign ever gets pregnant, Coburn could treat him, and if Coburn ever catches rabies, Ensign could give him the shots. Actually I think you have to be an MD to give rabies shots to humans but Ensign could give vaccine shots to Coburn's pets to prevent them getting rabies.

I guess this means that if Coburn ever gets caught in an affair with his chief of staff's wife and he tells Ensign about it, Ensign can later claim doctor-patient confidentiality if he is called to testify against Coburn. And since they're roommates at that Christian Fellowship House on C Street, he can claim to be his religious adviser as well.

P.S. -- Living at that house on C Street sounds like a pretty good deal. They only accept powerful people men in Washington and the rent is more than reasonable for D.C. According to available records, they were paying only $600 a month in 2003. It helps that the building is classified as a "church" and the group that runs it qualifies for tax exemption as a "religion."

[schrocat]

He's a vet?

Dear God.

Incidentally, I have taken over as office manager of this dang animal clinic over here.

[Ninong]

Welcome back!

Good luck with the animal clinic job.

[Ninong]

The House on C Street

Speaking of animal clinics, that House on C Street, where Sen. John Ensign lives, is turning out to be a real animal house. That's the officially registered 'church' that is owned by a subsidiary group of The Family. It serves as the Washington, DC home of several prominent politicians, past and present.

According to statements by Goppie politicians who live there, what happens there, stays there. They vow to not talk about the personal lives of their roommates or what goes on in The House. It's also the place where Gov. Mark Sanford went for 'spiritual counseling.' So much for that idea!

Anyway, besides such well-known Goppie Christian conservatives as Sen. John Ensign and Sen. Dr. Tom Coburn, the C Street house was also the home of former Representative Charles "Chip" Pickering, Jr. (R-MS). According to an alienation of affection lawsuit filed on July 16, 2009 by Chip Pickering's former wife, it was in the C Street house church that Chip hiked the old Appalachian Trail with his mistress! She's suing his mistress for ruining her marriage and her then-husband's political career. She alleges in the lawsuit that Chip would have been appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to the Senate seat vacated by Trent Lott had he not told Barbour that he was not interested in that position and, in fact, intended to leave politics altogether. The reason, according to the ex-Mrs. Pickering, is that Chip couldn't bear being away from his mistress. Apparently she was either unwilling or unable to move to DC permanently.

Remember that Sen. Dr. Tom Coburn publicly stated that if he were called to testify against his roommate John Ensign, he would claim that he couldn't be forced to give testimony based on his role as Ensign's spiritual adviser. He says he's an ordained deacon. He also claimed to be Ensign's physician. Apparently Ensign was having problems with his period.

BTW, don't miss the photo of Chip Pickering posing with real military pilots in front of a fighter jet in spite of the fact that Pickering is not a military pilot. That deliberately deceptive photo was removed from his official Congressional website in 2003 after critics ratted him out to the Pentagon. Pickering has never served in any branch of the US military. Ever. The photo is one he used down here to fool the rednecks into believing that he was a military hero like John McCain.

P.S. -- OMG! Chip Pickering kept a diary!!!

While former Rep. Chip Pickering of Mississippi allegedly carried on an extramarital affair with Elizabeth Creekmore Byrd, he recorded details of his exploits in a secret diary, including the dates and locations of his adulterous encounters.

Pickering, a Republican, described several assignations he had with Creekmore Byrd inside the C Street House, a Capitol Hill townhouse inhabited by an all-male group of right-wing Republican congressmen belonging to The Fellowship, an evangelical group, according to a person familiar with the diary's contents.

And according to a divorce filing by Pickering’s estranged wife, Leisha, the former congressman’s diary reveals the identities of several men who enabled his adulterous trysts and helped him cover his tracks.

Here.

Trivia: Chip Pickering took time out of his busy schedule to sponsor legislation in early 2007 urging President George W. Bush to adopt legislation declaring 2008 "the National Year of the Bible."

hyp⋅o⋅crite 

–noun

1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.