Aide: FOX News Did Not Tip Off Ensign

[underpants]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/06/19/aide-fox-news-did-tip-ensign-affair/

A senior aide to Sen. John Ensign confirmed late Friday that FOX News had no contact with the senator's office prior to Tuesday's revelation that Ensign had an affair with a former campaign worker.

"Can't expand, but FOX didn't tip us off," said a senior Ensign aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, FOX was told by former Ensign administrative assistant Doug Hampton that Hampton's wife, Cynthia, a former Ensign campaign worker, had an affair with the Nevada Republican. But before FOX could vet the allegations or contact Ensign's office, the senator publicly admitted the affair.

Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola later said an unnamed lawyer for Doug Hampton made "exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits" before the affair was made public. Meanwhile, Ensign's office learned that Doug Hampton had contacted FOX.

"The outrageous demands, on top of the fact that they approached the media, prompted us to go public," said the senior Ensign aide.

[johnfunk]

1. Yeah, right.

"'FOX didn't tip us off,' said a senior Ensign aide."

Someone did.

Probably a friend of John Ellis or Roger Ailes, because plausible deniability is requisite SOP.

[geckosfeet]

7. Quite.

[rurallib]

2. no doubt it was written on a scrap of paper they found on the floor

uh-huh, uh-huh!
Jesus must have dropped that paper to help his faithful follower.

[Faygo Kid]

3. As reliable as the rest of their "journalism;" i.e., BS

More garbage from Fox News. They probably had an intermediary warn Ensign. Or are just flat-out lying, which is probably closer to the truth.

Washington Post had a great article on it today, and it's clear Faux News does not pass the smell test. Not that they ever did.

[underpants]

6. Why would they even write this article?

so that the "Reliable Sources" guy and others can say "yes BUT Fox News says....." :shrug:

this one?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2009/06/why_now_john_ensign.html?hpid=news-col-blog

[Faygo Kid]

9. Nope. This one. It's obvious what Faux News did.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061902327.html?hpid=topnews

[underpants]

11. Oh Megyn Kelly

Look no one deserves to be stalked and I am sure it is beyond frightening .... BUT Fox News displays her like a window dressing-their intent is more than clear. I am sure that a lot of people in the public light have to deal with this (scary scary scary) but this might explain why Lauire Dhue just suddenly stopped being on Fox news.... both her and Kelly have some weird effect on conservative men, seriously they pause and drool over them :shrug: good looking yeah but I never understood the feral reaction.

This paragraph is pure Howard Kurtz

News organizations often struggle with questions of whether to pursue allegations of sexual impropriety by politicians. When ABC reported in 2006 that then-representative Mark Foley had sent sexually explicit messages to teenage House pages, several news organizations later acknowledged they had received, and declined to investigate, one of the milder messages.

[icnorth]

4. Is there not one republican in office

who hasn't left illicit pecker tracks across Washington?

[burning rain]

5. Sweet smell of BS k & r

\

[Doctor_J]

8. They're liars. So what?

:shrug:

[Marr]

10. The word of both parties is worthless.

The only relevant point is that the question was raised to begin with.