Source: Hampton to plead guilty to misdemeanor

WASHINGTON - Doug Hampton, a onetime top aide to former Sen. John Ensign, is expected to plead guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of violating federal lobbying law, a source confirmed.

Hampton's plea is part of an agreement reached with federal prosecutors who had pressed multiple charges that the former Las Vegan had broken the law that restricts Senate aides from lobbying for a year after they leave Capitol Hill.

Sentencing guidelines call for zero to six months in prison and possibly probation on the single misdemeanor that Hampton will admit to violating, said the source who was familiar with the case but asked not to be identified because the agreement has not yet been approved in court.

Further details were not available. Hampton, who now lives in California, is expected to appear Thursday in Washington, where the new charge will be presented to U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell and Hampton will declare a plea.

Sentencing could take place later this summer.

The new plea would be another step toward the end of the controversy that involved Ensign, a Republican from Nevada who resigned from the U.S. Senate last May ahead of an ethics report that detailed an extramarital affair he had with Hampton's wife, and efforts to cover it up and smooth over its aftermath.

Hampton, who once was Ensign's best friend, left the Senate's employ in May 2008 after he discovered the affair and was unable to get Ensign to end it.

In an effort to smooth over Hampton's departure and help him sustain an income, Ensign lined up clients for Hampton from among Republican business allies in the state, according to the report prepared by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Hampton in April 2011 was charged with lobbying Ensign's office for those clients in violation of the one-year "cooling off" law. Ensign has not been charged.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com
or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.