Did Santorum Tip Off Ensign?

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A great nugget we missed from the portion of Doug Hampton’s interview that aired last night…

Ever since the appearance last month of the famous letter Hampton wrote to Fox News — asking for the network’s assistance in exposing John Ensign’s “relentless pursuit” of Hampton’s wife Cindy — there has been intense speculation that someone at Fox tipped off Ensign to the fact that Hampton was preparing to go public, prompting the Nevada senator to pre-emptively admit to the affair.

And in the interview with Jon Ralston which aired last night, Hampton fingered an unlikely target:

One of the correspondents that is part of Fox News is Rick Santorum. I sent a note to Rick. I begged Rick to call me, to talk to me before, and he didn’t. Obviously, in my opinion, I could be wrong, but that would be what I supposed happen. And if I’m wrong, Rick, forgive, but it appears to me how it happened.

Hampton didn’t say whether he had ever actually reached the former Pennsylvania senator, who, like Ensign and Sen. Tom Coburn, is a hardcore social conservative.

But it’s worth noting that Santorum isn’t denying the charge. His spokeswoman told Politico that he wouldn’t be available for comment.

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