Report: Ensign, aides knew law was being broken

Sen. John Ensign and his top aides knew a federal law was being violated when they were helping former Ensign staffer Doug Hampton get established as a lobbyist, according to a report this morning in The Hill.

The Capitol Hill newspaper cited two unnamed sources in reporting that Ensign staffers “openly discussed Douglas Hampton’s lobbying job and the one-year revolving-door ban it appeared to violate.” That information was passed to Senate ethics investigators looking into Ensign’s affair with Hampton’s wife and his dealings afterwards with the couple.

Such actions could violate the law that forbids senior aides from lobbying the Senate for a year after they leave.

“At least one Ensign aide told the panel that Ensign and Hampton were so bold about the lobbying job that the pair ate lunch together at least once in the Senate dining room,” the Hill reported.

Hampton has told reporters that after he discovered Ensign and his wife had a relationship, Ensign found him work as a lobbyist as a way to smooth his departure from Ensign’s staff where he worked as administrative assistant. 

After he obtained at least two Nevada clients, Hampton said he had contacts with Ensign’s staff at the senator’s direction, which ethics experts said could amount to a violation of the law, both by Ensign and by Hampton.

An Ensign spokeswoman had no immediate comment this morning.  Ensign has said previously he did no wrong, and complied with Senate ethics rules in his dealings with Hampton.