FEC Fines Ensign Family

The Federal Election Commission has fined former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and his parents $54,000 for improper severance payments to Cindy Hampton, a former campaign aide who had an extramarital affair with the Nevada Republican, Politico reports.

“Doug Hampton, Cindy Hampton’s husband, was deputy chief of staff in Ensign’s Senate office at that time, as well as being the senator’s best friend. The resulting scandal, which exploded into public view in June 2009, led to a lengthy Senate Ethics Committee investigation and criminal probe by the Justice Department, and destroyed Ensign’s once-promising political career. Ensign resigned from the Senate in May 2011.”