WASHINGTON — A Las Vegas area woman who once worked for Sen. John Ensign acknowledged Wednesday that she was the Nevada senator’s mistress in an extramarital affair that has cost the onetime emerging GOP star his spot at the leadership table with Senate Republicans.
Cynthia Hampton, who was treasurer for Ensign’s political committees, acknowledged an affair with the senator that lasted more than eight months in a statement issued by an attorney retained by her and her husband, Douglas Hampton, who also served as one of Ensign’s most senior advisers.
The Hamptons declined to comment further, requesting privacy as they considered how to address the issue in the near future, according to Daniel Albregts, a personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas.
“It is unfortunate the Senator chose to air this very personal matter, especially after the Hamptons did everything possible to keep this matter private. 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,” Albregts said.
Ensign’s office confirmed that Mrs. Hampton is the woman who he did not identify during his Tuesday press conference revealing the affair. His office declined to answer questions about why the senator chose this week to make public the affair, which ended last year.
Ensign remained in Las Vegas Wednesday, after flying home to make the announcement, and is expected to remain there at least through the weekend. The Senate is currently debating a tourism promotion bill considered key to his state’s casino industry, and later this week the chamber will begin debate on a $106 billion spending bill providing funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Considered a staunch conservative, Ensign has spoken out in favor of the “Sanctity of Marriage” act that would have strictly prohibited same-sex marriages, while he also has called on other political figures caught in sex scandals to resign. Three weeks ago, he visited Iowa and openly stoked speculation he was considering a presidential run in 2012.
Early Wednesday Ensign surrendered his chairmanship of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, considered the No. 4 spot in leadership ranks, a post that comes with a staff of more than 20 aides who help craft policy positions for Republican senators.
“He’s accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents. He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman of the policy committee,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.
Ensign’s colleagues, who elevated him to the leadership position uncontested last winter, remained stunned by the news, the latest in a string of bad developments for a GOP conference that has fallen from having 55 senators to just 40 in three years.
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