Sen. John Ensign's parents shelled out big bucks to pay off their son's mistress, the latest twist in an unfolding scandal that has upended the political career of the one-time rising GOP star.
The scandal has also touched Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), another prominent conservative, who revealed that he had confronted Ensign about the affair and urged him to end it, but says he will refuse to divulge any conversations with Ensign — even under inquiry from ethics investigators.
On Thursday, Ensign's attorney said that the senator's parents gave Doug Hampton, Cynthia Hampton and their two children gifts worth $96,000 in the form of a check. The attorney, Paul Coggins, said that each gift was limited to $12,000 and "complied with tax rules governing gifts."
The disclosure of the April 2008 payment seemed intended to head off growing questions about whether Ensign violated federal law by failing to report what Doug Hampton called a severance package worth more than $25,000 to his wife Cynthia, who left Ensign's campaign staff on April 30, 2008.
Ensign was not required to report the giving of such gifts, and on Thursday, his attorney went to lengths to point out that the payments were made and "accepted" as gifts from personal accounts rather than as a severance package for their dismissal from his staff. It's unclear whether the Hamptons view the payments as a gift or as severance, and an attorney for the couple wasn't reachable for comment.
The revelations of the payoff came as the scandal - quiet for several weeks - blossomed anew as Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign's mistress Cynthia, told a Nevada television show this week that Ensign left his family in shambles by relentlessly pursuing his wife, even after writing a February 2008 letter purporting to break off the affair. The nine-month affair ended in August 2008 - some three months after the time both Hamptons left Ensign's staff.
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Originally Posted by Puckstop31
Maybe Puck is trying out his new Zen persona.
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