(Apologize in advance if this has already been posted)
Ensign helped mistress's husband get jobs
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press Writer Kathleen Hennessey, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 37 mins ago
LAS VEGAS – Sen. John Ensign helped his mistress's husband get two jobs during the time the rising Republican senator acknowledges carrying on an extramarital affair, an Ensign spokesman said Thursday.
"Just as he has done for many other staff members, Senator Ensign made recommendation calls for Mr. Hampton," Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said in a statement. Mazzola was responding to questions about the employment of Doug Hampton, a former aide to the Nevada senator.
Ensign on Tuesday admitted having a nine-month affair with Doug Hampton's wife, Cindy, who also worked for the senator. Ensign's office has said that both Cindy and Doug Hampton left their jobs in May 2008, and the affair ended in August 2008.
In the months after leaving his post, Doug Hampton quickly landed two positions with companies connected to Ensign.
One, a consulting firm that ran Ensign's 2006 campaign, acknowledges the senator encouraged the company to hire Doug Hampton.
A Las-Vegas based airline whose executives have contributed money to the senator declined to comment on whether Ensign was involved in Doug Hampton's employment.
Doug Hampton's easy transition from the political to corporate worlds isn't unusual. It does, however, raise questions about to what extent Ensign used his influence to assist two former employees who could have done damage to his career.
Mazzola did not respond to requests for more detail on the senator's involvement.
A lawyer for the Hamptons declined to comment Thursday. The couple released a statement Wednesday criticizing Ensign's disclosure of the affair, saying they "did everything possible to keep this matter private."
Ensign's office disputed the account and said Doug Hampton had approached a television media organization.snip
Doug and Cindy Hampton's son, Brandon, also works for the airline, Squyres confirmed. She would not say how he got the job in the company's call center.
Brandon Hampton also previously worked for Ensign, the former chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Records show the committee made twice-monthly payments, generally $500 apiece, to Brandon Hampton. The payments began in March of last year and ended in August, when Ensign's office says the affair ended.
Federal records also show that around the time of the affair, Cindy Hampton, received a promotion and a pay raise at one political entity controlled by Ensign, as well as a pay raise at a second. ETA link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_re_us/us_ensign_affair