Ethics panel chairwoman: ‘Reason to believe that Ensign violated laws’

Las Vegas Sun ^ | May 12, 2011 | 9:25 a.m. | By Karoun Demirjian

[redreno]

WASHINGTON - He may be gone from the Senate, but John Ensign hasn’t been forgotten.

Senate Ethics Committee members announced Thursday that they’d voted unanimously to release the committee’s final report about their investigation into Ensign’s actions surrounding and stemming from his affair with a campaign staffer, and refer their findings to the Justice Department and Federal Elections Commission.

"We have reason to believe that Senator Ensign violated laws within their jurisdictions," said Ethics Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. “These findings are so disturbing ... that had Senator Ensign not resigned, and had we been able to proceed to that adjudication, that the evidence of Senator Ensign’s wrongdoing would have been substantial enough to warrant the consideration of expulsion, the harshest penalty available to the committee and the Senate.

[Brilliant]

Just like Clinton.

[linear]

Reading the report, Ensign sounds like a dirtbag. He did no worse than Clinton, but that’s not saying too much.

[rj45mis]

Paging Ms. Waters & Mr. Rangel, you’re wanted by Ms. Boxer.

[jonsie]

Funny how Clinton and Barney Frank get away with their shenanigans.

[Maceman]

I searched the article in vain for any mention of Ensign’s party affiliation.

Just sayin’.

[Cheerio]

GOP - bad
DEM - Good

These RATs are masters at hypocrisy. Bawney Franks, Maxine Waters, Jefferson, Chollie Rangle, Eddie Bernice Johnson. I could go on, but it is not worth my time - I am preaching to the choir here on FR.

[basil]

Unfortunately for us, he’s a Republican. It’s unusual that they waited until many paragraphs into the article to give his political affiliation, which was leading me to believe that he is a dim. Not so, alas!

[Political Junkie Too]

It's amazing how swiftly these Congressional ethics committees release their reports when a Repbulican is the subject.

-PJ

[redreno]

I think the report took 22 months to complete.

[freekitty]

How about releasing the papers on Clinton?

[colorado tanker]

The article documents a lot of sleazy behavior but I’m not seeing all this supposedly serious criminal activity. It’s what we already knew: he had an affair with a married staffer and then paid the couple off.

[freekitty]

When these stupos do things like this; remember the dimwits have done 10 times worse.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

"We have reason to believe that Senator Ensign violated laws . . .," said Ethics Chairwoman Barbara "Check Bouncer" Boxer, D-Calif.

It's not the nature of the evidence but the seriousness of the charge that calls for investigation.

"Hey! That's my line! Former Speaker of the House Tom "there's no evidence that's why we need to investigate" Foley (D-Wash)

[RobinOfKingston]

Heard anything about maxine waters lately?

[mike-zed]

Too bad he couldn’t drive a MSP stall off a bridge. Then he’d be a potential POTUS nominee in a certain left of center political party.