The Department of Justice has ended a criminal investigation without making charges in the case of Senator John Ensign, his mistress and the conveniently doled out political favors.
This puts the senator’s behavior squarely up to the judgment of the Senate Ethics Committee. A decisive report or disciplinary action is called for, since the facts suggest the use of both influence and money to hush up the affair.
Mr. Ensign has denied any wrongdoing. But he eventually had to admit to having an affair with the wife of a longtime staff aide. After the aide discovered what was going on, the senator gave him a strong boost into a lobbying career. Mr. Ensign’s family also plied the aide and his wife with lucrative “gifts.”
An investigation by The Times established that Mr. Ensign asked political backers to find a job for the aide, Douglas Hampton. Payments of $96,000 to the Hamptons also were made by Senator Ensign’s parents, who insist this was a gift, not hush money. Once a lobbying job was secured, Senator Ensign and his chief of staff continued to help Mr. Hampton, advocating his clients’ cases directly with federal agencies.
That should be of particular concern to the Ethics Committee. There are supposedly strong Senate strictures against revolving-door lobbying abuses and quid pro quo dealings. Senator Barbara Boxer, chairwoman of the ethics panel, has said only that an inquiry is ongoing. The Senate has a responsibility to the public and to its own reputation not to duck the Ensign affair.
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