Lawyers, donors paid from Ensign campaign account
WASHINGTON — After resigning from office in May, former Sen. John Ensign drained his campaign bank account by refunding checks to supporters and paying lawyers who defended him in his ethics scandal.
Ensign returned $96,702 to donors beginning May 5, two days after his resignation became effective, according to a report on his political finances that became available this week at the Federal Election Commission.
Additionally, the Nevada Republican paid another $50,761 to various law firms that represented him and members of his staff who were questioned during investigations by the Senate Ethics Committee and the Department of Justice.
Over the course of the almost two years that Ensign was disputing allegations of wrongdoing, he spent more than $650,000 from his campaign fund to pay attorneys.
As of June 30, the "Ensign for Senate" committee that had financed his campaigns over his 10 years in Senate office contained only $25,552. That is just enough to repay a $25,000 loan that Ensign made to the account earlier this year.
Ensign received a single contribution during the April-June period covered by the report. The political action committee representing General Electric gave him $1,000 on June 30.
Ensign has another small source of funds available to him. His personal political action committee, the Battle Born PAC that he utilized to make contributions to fellow Republicans, contained $44,000 at the end of June.
The latest FEC report, though, puts another punctuation mark on the end of Ensign’s political career, while his future from a legal standpoint remains unclear.
The Senate Ethics Committee on May 12 said in a report it found evidence during a 22-month investigation that Ensign "violated laws" including conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements while attempting to cover up an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his top aides.
The findings were forwarded to the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission for possible prosecution. A Justice Department spokeswoman said they would be reviewed. The election commission has not commented.
Ensign has not spoken in public or talked to the press since he left office. Telephone messages were left on Tuesday with his campaign treasurer and his attorney.
In May, Ensign attorney Paul Coggins said he was "confident that the Department of Justice will conclude that Senator Ensign fully complied with the law."
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.