Jon Kyl Refuses To Defend John Ensign In Midst Of Ethics Scandal
Jon Kyl Refuses To Defend John Ensign In Midst Of Ethics Scandal
Late last week, the New York Times documented new ethics problems for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV). In an effort to cover-up an affair he was having with the wife of one of his top staffers, Ensign asked his corporate allies to give that aide — Doug Hampton — a lobbying job. Despite rules that prohibit congressional staffers from lobbying for one year after leaving their government position, Ensign nevertheless helped Hampton line up lobbying clients and then “repeatedly intervened on the companies’ behalf with federal agencies.”
Ensign “could be legally at risk” if he knew that Hampton was violating the one-year ban, or if he aided and abetted him in doing so. Law enforcement officials told the Times that the F.B.I. is “likely to open a preliminary investigation” into the new accusations to determine whether a full investigation is warranted. The FBI inquiry would take precedence over a Senate ethics inquiry.
This morning on CNN’s State of the Union, Senate ethics chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced “there’s a preliminary investigation going on, and we will look at all aspects of this case.” When asked whether Ensign can continue to “serve effectively,” Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) — a member of the Senate Republican leadership — refused to lend his support to Ensign. We should simply “wait and see what happens,” Kyl said. Watch it:
Ensign is finding no support among his long-time friends and colleagues on Capitol Hill. On Friday, Republican leader Mitch McConnell dodged the issue. “I really don’t have any observations to make about the Ensign matter,’’ McConnell told reporters.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Rats always abandon burning ships.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:07 amWhich rat speaks for conservatism?
October 4th, 2009 at 11:14 amthey also abandon sinking ships as well as rudderless skipperless ships…
October 4th, 2009 at 11:14 amBut the media has been attacking David Letterman with sexual harrassment/abuse of power charges when he told how he was being blackmailed by a boyfriend of one of his consenting sexual partners.
Hampton says Ensign aggressively pursued his wife and in the end he and his wife both lost their jobs. This has been known for months, where is the outrage from the media?
October 4th, 2009 at 11:22 amThe rat analogy does a disservice to rats. After all, they are just rodents who don’t know any better. There aren’t many other job opportunities for greedy, garbage picking, self-centered vermin unless Ensign is forced to resign and a seat in the Senate comes open.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:23 amWhatever the fate of the ship, it’s still a long swim to anywhere… and a lot of hungry fish.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:25 amEnsign is about to become a private (citizen).
October 4th, 2009 at 11:30 amKyl won’t defend him, but I’d bet everything I owned that if a vote came up to impeach Ensign – Kyl would vote AGAINST it.
Hypocrite.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:48 amIsn’t John Ensign the poster boy for the conservative’s family/moral crusade?
I am shocked, truly shocked that the darling of “C” street is being so denigrated by the liberal press.
I believe you could excuse him for many things but the hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy and Religious Conservatism appear to go hand in hand.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:52 amThe fundamentalists appear to have brought out the best in the Republican Party.
The country is paying dearly for this Conservative legacy.
Leftside Annie says:
Kyl won’t defend him, but I’d bet everything I owned that if a vote came up to impeach Ensign – Kyl would vote AGAINST it.
So would I.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:53 amIt’s only lying cheating on his wife and selling his vote what’s wrong with that it’s page ten of the repig play book Kyl has been to the team meetings he’ll stepup when it’s time to defend him. Of course page eleven says when doubt CYA
October 4th, 2009 at 11:53 amOf course they don’t defend him. If they defend him they take responsibility for him and children don’t take responsibility.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:55 amnoseeum says:
——————————————————————————–
Whatever the fate of the ship, it’s still a long swim to anywhere… and a lot of hungry fish.
“”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
noseeum,
October 4th, 2009 at 11:57 amIn Ensign’s case, the sharks have been sent dinner invitations. By the looks of things, it may be a 7 course dinner.
“In Ensign’s case, the sharks have been sent dinner invitations.”
Bon voyage, chum.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:02 pmJohn Ensign, under the bus!
October 4th, 2009 at 12:04 pmEnsign is one of God’s Chosen People. Sure, he strayed – tempted by the devil. But so did King David. At least Ensign lined up a cushy job for the husband – King David sent him off to the front lines to get killed.
As one of God’s Chosen, we must forgive Ensign. Letterman, on the other hand, as well as all liberals, are not God’s Chosen. They are of the devil. We must therefore condemn everything they do. God will not forgive their transgressions, and neither must we. For we have been washed in the blood of our Savior Lord Jesus Christ. He has made us pure. And we must go forth in His Holy Name and cast out all evil from our midst.
God Bless brother Ensign, and may He protect you from the slings and arrows from the unchurched.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:06 pmnoseeum says:
——————————————————————————–
“In Ensign’s case, the sharks have been sent dinner invitations.”
Bon voyage, chum.
“”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
Bona Petite!, sharks
October 4th, 2009 at 12:26 pmRadicals and hypocrites are about all the Republicans have left. Oh also Obama hating Olympic loss cheerers, led by Beck, and incited by Fox.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:35 pmPlease do not eat shark. As high trophic predators their populations are not sustainable. Thanks again for you wise selection of sea based proteins.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pmOT
dbadass, you mention sharks. Our nearest facsimile is the muskie and an old friend of mine recently caught a whopper in the near 60 inch range. he got a couple of good pictures but, in hos excitement and rush to release the fish, he forgot to measure it so no one will ever know how big it really was. I figure it will be a world record within a couple years!
October 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pmOops! I forgot the shark story. We used to occasionally catch “brown smooth-hounds” out of San Diego. We didn’t catch many but Mom had a few recipes for them. They were usually about 30″ but I caught one that pushed 4 feet. Some years later I was sobered when I realized that fish may have been 50 years old.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pmI really should stop trying to type and watch football simultaneously.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:14 pmAnother day, another Repignofascist having ethics violations. Funny how the party of “god” (as delay called it at the 2000 convention in Philadelphia) is made up of such crooked bastards. At least their are compassionate in their conservatism. Creeps
October 4th, 2009 at 1:32 pmZooey says:
John Ensign, under the bus!
October 4th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
It’s getting very crowded under that bus.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:32 pmSome of my Chinese friends give me dirty looks every time the subject of sharks comes up.
I don’t know about other countries, but I have seen fishermen villages in Mexico where the worst butchery of shark goes on in order to export shark fin to China. Only the fins. The rest of the shark is dumped overboard as soon as the fins are cut off.
I understand for the Chinese this is a matter of cultural tradition, but only THEIR awareness will stop the insane butchery for shark fin.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:37 pmSen. Ensign is not just facing a Senate Ethics Investigation,
He could be facing criminal charges for violating Lobby Laws.
He was in charge of the Senate Reelection Campaign, while having this affair…and as we all know…Republicans got Turned out of office in almost every case. Was this inevitable because of Bush’s Performance…or the result of serious Inattention on Ensign’s part. Questions linger.
This has to lead to some hard feelings among the Republicans in the Senate.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:56 pmThe GOP:
“Jobs, revenue, economy, people, America?? Who cares about that?! Party first!”
October 4th, 2009 at 1:56 pmSharks? OT much? Well, OK, there is a little Ensign blood in the water, so maybe. OTOH, Ensign may have simply pioneered a new over-the-top way to jump the shark. Sanford was pretty good with that whole Harry Hoo-done-it disappearing act on the Appalachian Trail, but Ensign’s payoffs and jobs for the family, etc, really put that in the shade, and makes Vitter, Craig, and Foley look exactly like the low-lifes they are. Letterman comes close with that $2 mil payout, but since that was a set-up with the DA’s sanction, it’s wholy another matter.
Yes, Kyl and a lot of other Republipimps are going to stay clear of commenting on the Ensign matter until the smoke clears. They really don’t want to step on their dicks in public; if he’s absolved or found to be way out of bounds, having said nothing, they can then say that they were with him or against him all the way. It’s SOP for anyone who can’t afford to take too public a position which may have consequences down the road at the next campaign; you don’t want to give your potential opponents a freebie in their advertising.
October 4th, 2009 at 2:08 pmRemember, this could be a two-fer. Tom Coburn, a fellow member of the ethically challenged, The Family/C St, fronted for Ensign in
October 4th, 2009 at 2:16 pmpayoffs“negotiations” with Doug Hamptons attorney. It’d be nice if two senators that couldn’t define service or honor, would bite the dust in one scandal.“Jon Kyl Refuses To Defend John Ensign In Midst Of Ethics Scandal”
The GOP rats are turning on each other. The GOP party is throwing Ensign under the bus. Ensign just join the Long Ranger Mark Sanford club.
October 4th, 2009 at 2:49 pmThe GOP scandals just keep mounting up. Meanwhile Huckleberry waits to run in 2012 on family values platform. He may have to reconcile some of the people who went astray with his platform. That is going make for interesting campaign speeches and interviews.
October 4th, 2009 at 3:00 pmIs Ensign staying at C Street? I understand that you get forgiven by the right if you go there.
October 4th, 2009 at 3:17 pmAccording to Maddow last Friday, C Street “church” appears to be abandoned at this time. Where they went is still a mystery.
October 4th, 2009 at 3:34 pmNormally repubs would hang in there with a fellow senator, but I can assure everyone of two things: 1) His little scandal is much worse than it appears, and 2)Ensign is an arrogant prick who has become offensive to his own Brotherhood of No.
October 4th, 2009 at 4:55 pmOh my, the Republicans are running away from Ensign just like they ran away from George W. Bush. They are afraid that the public will see the dirt on their knickers and they don’t want that to happen.
October 4th, 2009 at 5:00 pmWhat? No trolls to defend the good Senator, or blame it all on Bill Clinton?
October 4th, 2009 at 6:27 pmEnsign is toast. Let’s see who he takes down with him.
Sorry, but you can’t impeach a Senator, LS Annie. He can be expelled, I think, but it happens so rarely that I can’t remember when it was last done, if ever. Maybe Joe McCarthy? Huh, gotta Wiki that one.
If Ensign takes Coburn down with him, believe me, people; it’ll be much more than a two-fer. Coburn is so odious and such a hypocrite…on the other hand, Oklahoma isn’t likely to send anyone any better to the Senate. Eh.
October 4th, 2009 at 6:52 pmNo senator has been expelled since 1862. But several have resigned when facing expulsion. Fifteen senators have been expelled from the U.S. Senate.
I can think of 40 Senators who deserve it highly. Couple of Democrats, too, while I’m thinking upon it.
October 4th, 2009 at 6:57 pmAnd get this:
Fourteen of the fifteen were expelled during the Civil War, for supporting the Confederacy. They were from the South, of course.
Perfect, ain’t it? Confederate secessionist Southerners. Pretty much says it all.
October 4th, 2009 at 6:59 pm@ 38. Daddy-O says: Ensign is toast. Let’s see who he takes down with him. Sorry, but you can’t impeach a Senator, LS Annie. He can be expelled, I think, but it happens so rarely that I can’t remember when it was last done, if ever. Maybe Joe McCarthy? October 4th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
That’s basically correct; you can croak and get carried out, be expelled, resign, or lose an election. My recollection is that “Tailgunner” Joe was censured for his conduct, and then lost an election.
October 5th, 2009 at 1:05 am@ 41. I wuz wrong, been had by me own gray cells turning into commie traitors, been disinformationalized… (mutter mutter)
Joe McCarthy died in office; well, not really, he died at Bethesda Naval Hospital, due to complications arising from hepatitis (ie, his liver failed, crapped out on him; he was an alcoholic, which was a contributing factor to the hep infection). But he was still in the Senate when that happened, so he’s one of the ones that have been carried out dead. And he was censured; one of very few Senators to have been so punished (there have been something like 26 Senators censured).
An interesting point about Joe McCarthy is that he beat a progressive Republican, Robert M. La Follette Jr., to get into the Senate. La Follette was a founder of the Wisconsin Progressive Party, which lasted from the mid-30s until about 1946.
October 5th, 2009 at 1:18 amWhen Ensign gets tossed out of the Senate he can start an employment agency for all the men he cuckholded.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:58 amI hope the GOP stays in a bind for a long time. They have done so much damage to real democracy in America, that our nation is in turmoil, like their Party. burun estetigi
October 9th, 2009 at 9:44 am