John Ensign

The Senate Ethics Committee says it has found "substantial and credible evidence" that former Nevada Sen. John Ensign may have violated campaign finance and lobbying laws and has referred its findings to the Justice Department. Committee Chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday that the committee voted unanimously to release its preliminary report on a sex and lobbying scandal that dogged the Nevada senator for nearly two years before he resigned earlier this month. The report alleges that a 20-month investigation of Ensign and his associates found evidence that the senator, in the fallout from an extramarital affair, made false or misleading statements to the Federal Election Commission, conspired to help an aide violate the law, accepted illegal campaign contributions and "engaged in potential obstruction of justice.

WASHINGTON - The Senate Ethics Committee publicly admonished Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) for improperly meeting with a lobbyist and former aide to Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who resigned from the Senate after having an affair with the aide's wife. The qualified reprimand for violating the ban on meeting with former staff-turned-lobbyists falls short of a censure or criminal violation. But the committee said it was "improper conduct" for Coburn to meet with Douglas Hampton, the former aide who tried to work as a lobbyist after the affair forced him out of Ensign's office.

Nevada Sen. John Ensign, facing an ethics investigation stemming from an affair with a campaign aide, said Monday he would not seek reelection because he wanted to spare his family from an "exceptionally ugly" campaign. "At this point in my life, I have to put my family first," Ensign told reporters at a news conference in Las Vegas. Just two months into the 112th Congress, Ensign is the eighth Senate incumbent to opt out of running for a new term, out of 33 seats up in 2012.

Senate investigators found evidence that former Nevada Sen. John Ensign may have violated the law during a sex and lobbying scandal that led to his downfall, according to a Senate Ethics Committee report released Thursday. In a document that details betrayal from the Las Vegas suburbs to the power corridors of Washington, the ethics panel accused the former senator of making false or misleading statements to election regulators, conspiring to help an aide violate the law, accepting illegal campaign contributions and engaging in potential obstruction of justice.

Dogged by an extramarital affair, a Senate ethics investigation and lackluster fundraising, Nevada Sen. John Ensign announced Monday he would retire in 2012. The two-term Republican said he wanted to spare his family from an "exceptionally ugly" race that was sure to rehash Ensign's dalliance with his top aide's wife. "There are consequences to sin, and when you're in a leadership role, those consequences can affect a lot of other people," he said. Ensign spoke at the same Las Vegas courthouse where he apologized in 2009 for the affair with the wife of Doug Hampton.

Senate investigators found evidence that former Nevada Sen. John Ensign may have violated the law during a sex and lobbying scandal that led to his downfall, according to a Senate Ethics Committee report released Thursday. In a document that details betrayal from the Las Vegas suburbs to the power corridors of Washington, the ethics panel accused the former senator of making false or misleading statements to election regulators, conspiring to help an aide violate the law, accepting illegal campaign contributions and engaging in potential obstruction of justice.

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.

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.

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."

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 Senate Ethics Committee says it has found "substantial and credible evidence" that former Nevada Sen. John Ensign may have violated campaign finance and lobbying laws and has referred its findings to the Justice Department. Committee Chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday that the committee voted unanimously to release its preliminary report on a sex and lobbying scandal that dogged the Nevada senator for nearly two years before he resigned earlier this month. The report alleges that a 20-month investigation of Ensign and his associates found evidence that the senator, in the fallout from an extramarital affair, made false or misleading statements to the Federal Election Commission, conspired to help an aide violate the law, accepted illegal campaign contributions and "engaged in potential obstruction of justice.

Dean Heller was sworn in as Nevada's new U.S. senator on Monday, taking the seat left vacant by John Ensign after his resignation last week. Vice President Biden returned to the Capitol to administer the oath to Heller, a Republican who had served in the House representing Nevada's 2nd District since 2007. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval announced April 27 that he was appointing Heller to finish Ensign's term, which runs through January 2013. Ensign's resignation took effect May 3. Heller already had announced his candidacy in the 2012 Senate election before Ensign decided to step down rather than continue facing an ethics investigation stemming from his affair with a campaign aide.

Rep. Dean Heller was appointed Wednesday to replace Nevada's scandal-stained Sen. John Ensign, giving Republicans a leg up on a seat both sides are eyeing as vital to control of the Senate after 2012. The selection of Heller by his fellow Republican, Gov. Brian Sandoval, was no surprise. Heller had announced plans to run for Ensign's seat in 2012, and the governor was quick to endorse him. The appointment came less than a week after Ensign abruptly announced his resignation amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into corruption charges arising from an extramarital affair and payments made to a former aide.

Rep. Dean Heller, a third-term Reno lawmaker, was appointed Wednesday to fill the seat of retiring Nevada Sen. John Ensign. "The people of Nevada deserve a new senator who can begin work immediately," Gov. Brian Sandoval said of his fellow Republican. "Too many important issues face our state and our nation to name a caretaker to this important position. Nevada needs an experienced voice in Washington, DC. " Sandoval took less than a week to replace Ensign, who abruptly resigned amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into corruption charges arising from an extramarital affair and payments made to a former top aide.

Nevada Sen. John Ensign, facing an ethics investigation stemming from his affair with a campaign aide, will resign Friday, his office announced. The senator's decision was met with a collective sigh of relief — and little surprise — in his home state, where Ensign's scandals have dominated headlines for nearly two years. Ensign, a Republican, had announced in March that he would not seek a third term in 2012, saying he wanted to spare his family from an "exceptionally ugly" campaign.

Dogged by an extramarital affair, a Senate ethics investigation and lackluster fundraising, Nevada Sen. John Ensign announced Monday he would retire in 2012. The two-term Republican said he wanted to spare his family from an "exceptionally ugly" race that was sure to rehash Ensign's dalliance with his top aide's wife. "There are consequences to sin, and when you're in a leadership role, those consequences can affect a lot of other people," he said. Ensign spoke at the same Las Vegas courthouse where he apologized in 2009 for the affair with the wife of Doug Hampton.

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.

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, facing an ethics investigation stemming from an affair with a campaign aide, said Monday he would not seek reelection because he wanted to spare his family from an "exceptionally ugly" campaign. "At this point in my life, I have to put my family first," Ensign told reporters at a news conference in Las Vegas. Just two months into the 112th Congress, Ensign is the eighth Senate incumbent to opt out of running for a new term, out of 33 seats up in 2012.