Ensign’s Cozy Relationship With The Hampton Family

Posted by Myrna the Minx on June 17, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

So now the nation knows that Ensign had an affair with Cynthia Hampton, wife of Douglas Hampton–both former employees of Ensign at some point during the already infamous affair. But Brandon Hampton, the son of Douglas and Cynthia Brandon, was also employed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is headed up by Senator Ensign. Things are getting a little bit complicated. Politico reported on the details of the salaries paid to the Hampton’s by Ensign:

“Douglas Hampton was paid about $101,000 in 2008 and $144,000 in 2007 as Ensign’s administrative assistant. But a financial disclosure form he filed in 2007 and 2008 – required for senior congressional staffers – showed only checking and savings account worth a maximum $30,000 combined.

A review of public records shows that the Hamptons in 2006 took out a $1.2 million mortgage on their Las Vegas home, at an interest rate of 8 percent.”

Based on the salary information published by Politico, there are a few things that merit scrutiny according to Paul Blumenthal at the Sunlight Foundation:

“Now, you might immediately think that $144,000 for an administrative assistant is an absurd amount, but administrative assistant is often synonymous with chief of staff on the Hill. However, if you look to the reporting period of 4/1/2008 to 5/1/08:

Hampton was paid approximately $20,000 over this one month period. At the same time, Ensign hired a chief of staff, John Lopez, ostensibly to replace Hampton. If we are to assume that Hampton’s annual salary is around $144,000 — the cap on staffer salaries is around $160,000 — then the $20,000 for one month ($240,000 in a year) would be far higher than his normal rate of pay. Over the four months of 2008 Hampton received $101,000, far more than his rate of pay for all of 2007.

There are a few points to be made here:

1) Staff salary reporting is often not aligned with the dates shown. If you look at Legistorm, you will see dates aligned with amounts. This is often not accurate, or includes bonuses with attribution.

2) Hampton could have collected his vacation pay, sick leave and a bonus at his termination, which would make his salary appear inflated.

3) Hampton could have stayed on to train Lopez in his new job. This would explain the overlap of two employees holding the same job.”

However, it just doesn’t look or seem right does it? It’s not public knowledge that Cynthia Hampton saw her salary double in a very short time. And the employment of Brandon Hampton by the National Republican Senatorial Committee looks really bad in light of what we’ve learned about Ensign’s relationship with the Hampton family. It’s too cozy by half and could point to a misuse of public funds. I’m afraid Ensign is in for a bumpy ride–this scandal is not going away fast–especially now that the Hamptons have “lawyered up” as the Gleaner says.

Update

TMPMuckraker has more on the very lucrative connection the Hamptons had with Ensign.

“But it’s Ensign’s ties to Cynthia’s husband Doug that may be more interesting. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ensign and Hampton are old friends. When the senator gave Hampton a top staff position in 2006, “it was as if Ensign had put his brother on staff,” a former Ensign staffer told the paper. “[Hampton] had a lot of sway with the senator.” Hampton’s formal title was “administrative assistant,” the former staffer described the job as a sort of “co-chief of staff.” Hampton’s financial disclosure form shows that he made around $101,000 in 2008 and $144,000 in 2007.”