The John Ensign story just won’t go away — and that’s not good news for the Silver State philanderer.
Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun has obtained emails sent by Doug Hampton which show two interesting things:
First, that just one day before Ensign publicly acknowledged his affair with Doug’s wife Cindy this June, Doug had emailed former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum about it, and had told Santorum that he’d also informed Fox News. That revelation will add to speculation that it was Santorum who tipped off his friend Ensign that Hampton planned to go public.
And second, that Mike Slanker, the Ensign aide who ran the National Republican Senatorial Committee and later gave Hampton a job at his consulting firm, knew last summer about the affair. Slanker had previously told the AP he was unaware of the affair until Ensign publicly admitted to it.
Doug Hampton had earlier told Ralston that Slanker and his wife knew about the affair last year, and that Hampton had informed Santorum of it — but the emails offer proof for his claims.
In the Santorum email, sent at 11:04 am on June 15th, Hampton writes that he is asking for the former senator’s help “to resolve this terrible coverup.” He also writes: “I am sending this note along to you because of your affiliation with Fox New (sic) and what i have put in motion with the letter I have sent Megyn Kelly at Fox News.” Hampton attaches a separate document titled “US Senator,” which appears to contain details of the affair.
Hampton appears aware that in going to Santorum, he may be tipping off Ensign about his plan to go public. He writes: “It is my strong request we speak prior to you calling John but realize I cannot control what you choose to do with the information.”
The next day, Ensign would come forward to acknowledge the affair. Santorum has declined to say whether he told Ensign that Hampton had gone to the media.
As for the Slanker emails, written in July 2008, they mainly show the Slankers and the Hamptons struggling to deal with the affair’s fallout on the friendship that had existed between the two couples. But they make clear that both Mike and Lindsey Slanker — who worked with Mike at their consulting firm, November Inc. — were aware of the affair at the time they were written, belying what Slanker had earlier claimed.
Ensign’s senior staff has been jumping ship lately. And even the senator’s dad is feeling the effects of the scandal.
