Scandals, 2009

From Bwtm

Senate

John Ensign is a Republican senator from Nevada. He was first elected to the Senate in 2000, after having served in the House for five years. Mr. Ensign led the Republicans' campaign efforts in 2008. He admitted on June 16, 2009, that he had an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff, Cynthia Hampton. Her husband, Douglas Hampton, was one of Mr. Ensign's top aides. On June 17, Mr. Ensign resigned his position as the fourth-ranking Republican leader in the Senate, but said he had no intention of resigning from his Senate seat. The senator's embarrassment over his misstep seemed to deepen in July, as it was revealed that his wealthy parents gave almost $100,000 to Mrs. Hampton and her family in April 2008. On Oct. 1, it was reported that in early 2008 Mr. Ensign arranged for Mr. Hampton to join a political consulting firm and lined up several donors as his lobbying clients, according to interviews, e-mail messages and other records. Mr. Ensign and his staff then repeatedly intervened on the companies' behalf with federal agencies in Washington, often after urging from Mr. Hampton. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/e/john_ensign/index.html?inline=nyt-per

Congress

Ex-congressman Jefferson receives 13 years in prison. http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-jefferson-sentence14-2009nov14,0,3620712.story

Spanky Panky

Former Assemblyman Michael Duvall’s recorded boasts that he had sexual relations with a woman believed to be a lobbyist have drawn the attention of the FBI, whose agents have begun questioning associates of the disgraced Republican from Yorba Linda. Agents have talked to at least two former employees of Duvall, including his chief of staff, Carolyn Ginno, to determine whether there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing that could lead to an investigation, according to people familiar with the inquiries. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/fbi-questioning-former-aides-to-mike-duvall-.html

'Spanky' Duvall's conduct is grounds for a good thrashing. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez13-2009sep13,0,5073769.column