Ensign's mistress may decide his future

[RandySF]

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=7B65FB60-18FE-70B2-A8F683A4BDBBFCF0

"Cindy Hampton once held the keys to John Ensign’s heart.

Now she might hold the key to his career.

Doug Hampton — Ensign’s former chief of staff and the husband of his mistress — has called on the Nevada Republican to resign, saying that he’s guilty of both sexual harassment and wrongful termination.

But to make those charges stick, Cynthia “Cindy” Hampton herself must step forward and accuse her former lover and longtime employer of making unwanted advances or creating a hostile work environment, lawyers and ethics experts say.

And so far, she is the only participant in the love triangle to remain silent on the matter.

“The harassment claim has to come from the person harassed,” said Stan Brand, a congressional ethics expert and former general counsel of the House. “I don’t think the Senate Ethics Committee or anybody else in the Senate can begin an investigation of that nature without a complainant, nor should they.”

Ensign appears to have survived the initial stages of his sex scandal, telling the Las Vegas Sun Monday that he intends to remain in office and run for reelection in 2012.

But his behavior has frustrated his Republican Senate colleagues — asked Tuesday whether he’d support Ensign in 2012, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Ensign “will have to speak to those issues himself” — and the possibility of a contentious and embarrassing civil case still looms.

It’s just not clear which kind."

[babylonsister]

1. Politico-yawn. nt

[orleans]

2. since i heard today he's planning on running again in 2012

i hope this woman has the guts to step out of the shadows and charge this dickhead with sexual harrasment and wrongful termination. (but...will she have to give back the $96,000 first??)

ugh.