Senator Must Get Slapped With Harassment Charge to Lose Career

Nevadan Republican Senator Ensign will need to be formally accused of sexual harassment by former mistress Cindy Hampton before he can be legally prosecuted by the Senate Ethics Committee despite evidence of a nearly $100,000 gift from the Ensign family to the Hamptons.

“The harassment claim has to come from the person harassed,” explained congressional ethics expert Stan Brand. “I don’t think the Senate Ethics Committee or anybody else in the Senate can begin an investigation of that nature without a complainant, nor should they.”

In addition to possible sexual harassment charges for his affair with campaign aide, Cindy, Ensign may also be held liable for the wrongful termination of Cindy’s husband Doug, his former chief-of-staff. Ironically, these charges face a conservative politician who brands himself on upholding traditional family values.

Ensign recently went public about his affair with Cindy last month after Doug came to him seeking money to prevent him from selling the story to the media.

Ensign’s family gave the Hamptons a $96,000 gift last year allegedly “out of concern for the well-being of longtime family friends during a difficult time.”

“None of the gifts came from campaign or official funds, nor were they related to any campaign or official duties,” said Ensign’s Dallas-based attorney, Paul Coggins, “Senator Ensign has complied with all applicable laws and Senate ethics rules.”

Ensign claims that his parents presented the Hamptons with the check after he had told them about his affair with Cindy. The family then sent a check to the Hampton family as consolation.

“The gifts are consistent with a pattern of generosity by the Ensign family to the Hamptons and others,” said Coggins. “The payments were made as gifts, accepted as gifts and complied with tax rules governing gifts.”

Brand, who specializes in cases relating to ethics breaches, explained that “the family can give what it wants to give, assuming it’s OK with the IRS.”

In fact, the only people facing problems with the IRS may actually be the Hamptons. Recipients of gifts over $12,000 must pay taxes on the amount received. The Hamptons claim that the checks were addressed to different members of the Hampton family and were received over a period of time, thereby excluding them from this particular rule.

“The Hamptons obviously don’t look wonderful here either, neither one. But they’re not the public figures,” said formal federal prosecutor Melanie Sloan. “Really every other senator — expect for maybe David Vitter — must be cringing from the humiliation of it. It looks bad for all senators when a senator behaves like this.” Sloan is also the executive director of the nonpartisan group CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics).

“Given that Sen. Ensign conducted an affair with a campaign employee who is married to a member of his office staff, and that both individuals were terminated, apparently for reasons related to the affair, the Select Committee on Ethics should immediately open an investigation into this matter,” Sloan continued. “It’s one thing to be a creep. It’s another to be a harasser, to abuse your position of power.”

GOP strategist Steve Wark stated that he feels it is time for Ensign to step down from his position as Senator.

“I believe that he’s compelled to do that. I don’t think he needs to be pushed in that direction by anybody,” he said.

Ensign told the Vegas Sun that he does not plan on resigning from his post as Senator. “I said before, I always planned on serving and working hard – working harder than I ever worked — and I’m going to continue to do that.”