Judge grants more time for Hampton attorneys to prepare

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Friday gave attorneys for former Capitol Hill aide Doug Hampton another three months to prepare his defense, including time to inspect newly available evidence provided by the Senate Ethics Committee.

The Justice Department is receiving copies of depositions, interviews and other material gathered by the Senate panel during its 22-month investigation of former Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, Hampton's one-time boss, federal prosecutor Deborah Mayer said.

At a hearing in U.S. District Court, Mayer told federal Judge Beryl Howell most, if not all, of the Senate material should be received and officially recorded by the end of July.

Mayer said the "very large volume" of possible evidence "may be slightly different" from what the Justice Department gathered in its separate investigation.

Hampton's attorney, Federal Public Defender A.J. Kramer, requested time from Howell to review the incoming material.

Howell set Sept. 30 for the next court hearing in the case of Hampton, Ensign's former administrative assistant who was indicted in March on seven counts of violating a federal "revolving door" law that prohibits Senate aides from lobbying the institution for a year after they leave their jobs.

Hampton, who lives in California, participated by telephone with permission from the judge. Howell indicated she wanted him present at the next hearing.

Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, the ranking Republican, authorized the transfer of the Senate-gathered evidence to the Justice Department in May.

At the same time the committee issued a detailed report saying evidence showed Ensign violated laws including conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements, all stemming from efforts to cover up an extramarital affair with Doug Hampton's wife, Cindy.

Doug Hampton has pleaded innocent to the charges and portrayed himself as a victim in public comments about his wife's relationship with Ensign and the deterioration of his relationship with the senator.

According to the Senate ethics report, Ensign acted to ease Hampton off his staff after his discovery of the affair but worked to cushion the blow by setting up Hampton as a lobbyist with Nevada clients whom Ensign solicited and sometimes pressured into hiring the aide.

The Senate Ethics Committee concluded that Ensign conspired with Hampton and aided and abetted his actions to break the law.

The Justice Department last December notified Ensign's attorneys that it was not going to pursue charges against him at that time, raising questions as to why Ensign had escaped prosecution while his aide was indicted.

Reports later indicated that the department did not have access to immunized witnesses and many key emails that became available to the Senate Ethics Committee, which conducted its own Ensign probe. Some of the Senate's allegations were new ones, as well.

A spokeswoman has said the department plans to review the more recent evidence gathered by Senate investigators as they relate to the Ensign case. Ensign resigned from the Senate on May 3, a week before the Ethics Committee issued its report. He has maintained he broke no laws.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.