Politicians withhold judgment on Ensign

LAS VEGAS - The winding tale of a U.S. senator for Nevada, his mistress and her outraged husband has the state's political world holding its breath for the next twist - and withholding judgment, at least publicly.

Nevada's congressional delegation on Friday stayed mum on its embattled colleague, Sen. John Ensign, who revealed a day ago that his wealthy parents had paid his mistress's family nearly $100,000 out of concern for their "well-being."

Republican insiders in the state largely stayed quiet as well. A Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman called for more information about the payments, but did not call for Ensign's resignation. Even the state GOP's defense of their top-ranked elected officials took a "wait and see" tone.

"From what I've seen and heard, there is nothing that would make me believe that he should have to resign. I think this is a personal issue," said Nevada Republican Party Chair Sue Lowden, who then said she didn't know if there was more to come.

"I have no idea," she said.

Ensign has been full of surprises. The popular, conservative Republican was just beginning to raise his national profile when he called a news conference last month to confess to a dalliance with Cindy Hampton, his wife's good friend and his former campaign committee treasurer.

Ensign then said Hampton's husband, Doug, who had also worked for the senator, was seeking large amounts of money from him.

Doug Hampton came forward this week to say that his wife was paid a severance of more than $25,000 when she left her job in May 2008. Such a severance payment raised questions of a campaign finance disclosure violation.

Ensign's disclosure of his parents' gift was aimed at silencing those questions.

The money was paid by "a check totaling $96,000," Ensign attorney Paul Coggins said. "Each gift was limited to $12,000," he said, the maximum amount one can give without tax ramifications.

Coggins said Ensign had followed all tax laws and Senate ethics rules.

On Friday, Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Phoebe Sweet said the party wasn't satisfied with that assurance.

"What we're calling for, at this point, is for Sen. Ensign to come clean and answer questions ... so that we don't have to continue to get our information in drip, drip, drips," Sweet said.

Asked if the party thought Ensign should resign, Sweet said: "It's not clear at this point whether he has violated the law, and we'd like him to answer those questions first."

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who earlier this week said it would be inappropriate for him to "pile on" Ensign, declined to comment Friday.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Dina Titus and Shelley Berkley also declined to comment, although Berkley added that her phone was "ringing off the hook" from supporters wanting her to run for Ensign's seat.

Ensign is not up for re-election until 2012.

A spokesman for Republican U.S. Rep. Dean Heller did not respond to a request for comment.

There was some indication that questions about payments to the Hamptons weren't the only unresolved problems for the senator.

In an interview aired Thursday, Doug Hampton told a local television news program that Ensign pushed him out of his Senate job over the affair and used Cindy Hampton's job as "leverage" when she tried to get out of the relationship with the senator.

"She's trying to get away from John but he'll leave messages that said, 'This is about your job."' Doug Hampton said, suggesting he might continue to seek a settlement from the senator.

"John needs to go address some things, and he needs to take some responsibility, and he needs to make some restitution and do some things right," Hampton said. "We were employees, not fired but orchestrated, asked to leave, ushered out, however you have it - a powerful man changed our employment life forever."

For now, one GOP consultant Robert Uithoven said he didn't hear Republicans clamoring for Ensign's resignation.

"People I talk to think he's been a good senator who screwed up," he said.

Aside from a pre-scandal goodwill, Ensign has another thing going for him, Uithoven said.

"He has three years before he has to face the voters again," he said.