By PETE YOST and LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign of Nevada was only beginning to emerge from a self-imposed political exile over fallout from his extramarital affair with a campaign aide. Now, tawdry new details about the case are raising fresh questions whether Ensign can be re-elected in 2012 -- or even face criminal charges over his behavior.
If Ensign was looking for signs of support among Republican leaders on Capitol Hill on Friday, he didn't get any. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell declined repeatedly to answer questions about Ensign or offer any support. Other Republicans, already effectively a 60-40 minority in the Senate, also met the latest developments with silence, wary of speaking out until they see evidence of wrongdoing uncovered by the Senate ethics committee or federal law enforcement.
Ensign's one-time presidential ambitions imploded this summer after disclosures about the affair -- including reports of his own efforts to hide it by finding a consulting and lobbying job for his mistress' husband, Doug Hampton, arranging for a $96,000 payment to the couple and doling out a promotion and pay raises to his mistress around the time of the affair. Ensign responded by keeping a low profile, rarely speaking to reporters.
But in recent weeks, Ensign had started to play a more visible role on Capitol Hill. He managed the debate for Republicans on a bill designed to increase international tourism in the United States -- a key issue for his home state. And he has been a vocal critic of Democratic health care proposals.
Now, Ensign is making himself scarce again, after The New York Times reported that he helped Hampton find work as a lobbyist and that Hampton lobbied Ensign on behalf of his clients. Hampton told the newspaper that he and Ensign were aware of a ban on Hampton's lobbying his former boss or Ensign's staff, but chose to ignore it.
