It may soon be time to say I was wrong again. On the 22nd of last month in The Republican Ensign Has Fallen, I implied that by resigning, he would avoid prosecution. That may not be the case after all, because the Senate Ethics Committee has referred reports to the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission opining that Ensign committed crimes and recommending prosecution. What a shocker! They have done nothing like that in years. Here it is in detail.
The Senate Ethics Committee declared yesterday that it has “substantial and credible evidence’’ that former senator John Ensign broke federal laws in his effort to cover up an extramarital affair he had with a political aide, referring the case to the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission.
In a highly unusual public rebuke, the bipartisan committee presented its case on the Senate floor, announcing it had voted unanimously to release its findings and request that the Justice Department restart a criminal investigation into the Nevada Republican’s actions.
The evidence against Ensign was “substantial enough to warrant the consideration of expulsion’’ had he not resigned, said Senator Barbara Boxer, the panel chairwoman, reading from a report of the special counsel hired to handle the investigation.
Ensign, who said he never violated any rules or laws, resigned May 3 rather than face questions under oath… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Boston Globe>
The most detailed account of this issue I could find comes from Rachel Maddow as she explores the details of the Ensign Scandal in depth with columnist Jon Ralston.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
How about Coburn? I think he should be charged as well, as the middle man in the negotiation of a bribe, and he lied about it as well.
There could be no better poster child for Republican integrity. Ensign typifies the greed and corruption the party has come to represent.
8 Responses to “Poster Child for Republican Integrity”
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Coburn ought to be boiled in oil just like Ensign. What a couple of despicable phonies!
Jack, you’re so right!
Words John Ensign is going to be hearing (and hating) in the immediate future:
•There Is Substantial Credible Evidence That Senator Ensign …
It should be noted the the Senate Ethics Committee voted UNANIMOUSLY to forward their findings to the DOJ for further investigation. And in a rare moment of laying-it-on-the-line, when asked about Ensign continuing claims of innocence, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said she wanted to “Go on record as chairman of the Ethics Committee to say how strongly I disagree with that statement.”
I agree w/ TC and Jack that hopefully Coburn will get caught in the crossfire of this mess for his “negotiating” (a weasel word if I ever heard one).
Two excellent detailing sources (the first one is “juicier” than the second):
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/the_ensign-hampton_affair_text_messages_prayer_bre.php?ref=fpa
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/senate-ethics-panel-ensign-sex-scandal-may-have-broken-us-ethics-laws-we-have-forwarded-ensign-findi.php?ref=fpblg
Thanks for the links, Nameless. I’m sure what happened is that one Republican folded, giving the Democrats a majority. After protecting their crony became impossible, the rest joined to give themselves a veneer of credibility.
Don’t forget that Ensign and Coburn were part of that profoundly religious C Street residence. Guess they didn’t pray (prey?) enough. So much for your Christian values.
The problem is they can’t tell the difference between pray and prey.
The funny thing here is that my mind fell into the same ditch, as you’ll see in the CFPB article coming today.
Charles, I agree, except the actions of Republicans do not reflect Christian values. They reflect Supply-side pseudo-Christian values.