Nevada U. S. Senator, Republican John Ensign, "Ensigns" His Name To The Hall Of Extramarital Affairs Shame.

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Sen. Ensign Acknowledges an Extramarital Affair
By Paul Kane and Chris Cillizza

Sen. John Ensign (Nev.), once seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, yesterday acknowledged an extramarital affair with a former campaign staffer who is married to one of the lawmaker's former legislative aides.

Ensign, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, disclosed the affair at a hastily arranged news briefing in Las Vegas, his home town. He flew home yesterday morning after informing GOP leaders on Capitol Hill of his impending announcement, missing a vote on tourism legislation considered important to Nevada's casino industry.

The news was the latest setback for a Republican Party that suffered losses of at least 13 Senate seats in the past two elections and saw Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) defect to the Democrats in April. Any further instability in their ranks is unwelcome news for Republicans, who viewed Ensign as a telegenic communicator who could deliver the conservative message on political talk shows in a congenial matter.

Ensign did not directly comment about his political future during his news conference but said he was "committed to my service in the United States Senate." He does not face reelection until 2012 and had taken preliminary steps to explore a run for the White House that year, making a trip three weeks ago to Iowa, the first testing ground on the presidential primary calendar.

"I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," Ensign said, reading from a prepared statement and leaving without taking questions. Ensign's wife, Darlene, was not at her husband's side during the short briefing but issued a statement saying the couple's marriage has become "stronger" after the affair.

"I love my husband," she said in her statement.

Other members of the Senate Republican leadership declined to comment on Ensign's admission yesterday. GOP leaders had hoped to spend the next few months focused on Nevada's other senator, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D), who is up for reelection in 2010 and is considered potentially vulnerable to a challenge.

Ensign is considered a leading voice among social conservatives in the GOP. In 1998, as a House member running against Reid, he called on President Bill Clinton to resign after revelations about his affair with a White House intern, saying the president had "no credibility left."

In September 2007, Ensign called then- Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) a "disgrace" after Craig was arrested in an airport men's restroom and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a sex sting. Ensign played the leading role in an unsuccessful effort to force Craig into resigning from the Senate immediately.

Ensign's affair began a few months after he called for his colleague to resign, according to a timeline provided by his office. Beginning in December 2007 and continuing until August 2008, Ensign had a "consensual affair" with a campaign staffer who was "married to an official Senate staffer," the statement from his office said.

Ensign said both the husband and the wife had left his political or legislative payrolls by May 2008. ...

"This is yet another reminder as to why the American people have chosen new management for the foreseeable future," said John Weaver, a former senior adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "Nothing is shocking in Washington, of course, except the audacity of politicians who believe rules don't apply to them."