John Ensign

The sex scandal engulfing Sen. John Ensign deepened Wednesday after his former mistress' husband made new allegations about the relationship, saying the Nevada Republican paid the woman more than $25,000 in severance when she stopped working for him last year. Doug Hampton made the accusation in a TV interview with Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston.

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was treated at a hospital in Las Vegas after his car was hit head-on by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel, police said. Ensign, 47, and an aide, who was driving, were taken to Sunrise Hospital with minor injuries and later released, police said.

The State Bar of Nevada reaffirmed its opposition to a bill by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) to split up the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a frequent source of anti-Bush-administration rulings. In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rew Goodenow, State Bar of Nevada president, said the group's governing board opposes Ensign's bill "given the tremendous financial strain splitting the 9th Circuit Court would cause and thereby taking away from the direct administration of justice."

Nevada Sen. John Ensign, an emerging Republican leader who has been mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential candidate, apologized Tuesday for an extramarital affair with a former staff member but indicated that he had no plans to resign. "It's absolutely the worst thing I have ever done in my life," he said at a televised news conference. "If there was ever anything that I could take back in my life, this would be it."

Nevada Sen. John Ensign's wealthy parents gave his mistress and her family $96,000, the conservative lawmaker revealed Thursday, an admission that further darkened his once-bright career and caused even allies to question his continued effectiveness as a U.S. senator. The gifts to Cynthia Hampton; her husband, Doug; and two of their children were made "out of concern for the well-being of longtime family friends during a difficult time," said a statement from Ensign's attorney.

Sen. John Ensign said Wednesday that his affair with a friend's wife was different from former President Clinton's relationship with a White House intern because he didn't lie about it under oath. "I haven't done anything legally wrong," the Nevada Republican told the Associated Press in an interview. "President Clinton stood right before the American people and he lied to the American people," Ensign said. "You remember that famous day he lied to the American people, plus the fact I thought he committed perjury.

Politically speaking, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada is about as battered as it gets. The Republican senator in June acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign aide, who was married to his best friend, who has castigated Ensign in television interviews as a shameless Lothario. In recent days, after the New York Times reported on Ensign's efforts to silence his mistress' husband, Doug Hampton, the Senate ethics committee launched an investigation and talk surfaced of a possible FBI inquiry.

Nine days after the election, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared victory again Thursday when his narrow win over Republican Rep. John E. Ensign survived a special hand-count of 5,942 paper ballots. "The election is over, the people of Nevada have spoken," Reid said. The revised tally showed Ensign picking up an extra 100 votes.

A judge in Reno authorized a recount of as many as 15,000 absentee ballots in Sen. Harry Reid's 459-vote victory over Republican Rep. John Ensign. Judge Janet Berry ruled on the recount at an emergency hearing after Washoe County officials said voting machines used to count the absentee ballots failed in post-election tests. Results are scheduled to be released at a court hearing Monday. The 13,000 to 15,000 absentee ballots represent 16% of the 95,000 ballots cast by county voters.