US senator in ethics probe quits

Embattled Republican US Senator John Ensign of Nevada announced that he will resign amid an ongoing ethics investigation, a move that could spare him from the continued embarrassment of the closely watched probe.

Mr Ensign insisted he has done nothing wrong, but said he could no longer expose his family and constituents to the intense focus on his extramarital affair with a former staffer and the ethical allegations clouding that relationship.

“For my family and me, this continued personal cost is simply too great,” he said in a statement.

Mr Ensign said he will send an official resignation letter to Vice President Joe Biden today. The resignation would be effective from May 3.

“While I stand behind my firm belief that I have not violated any law, rule, or standard of conduct of the Senate, and I have fought to prove this publicly, I will not continue to subject my family, my constituents, or the Senate to any further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings, or especially public hearings,” Mr Ensign said.

Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, and Republican Senator Johnny Isakson, the committee’s vice chairman, said in a statement that Mr Ensign “made the appropriate decision” in stepping down.

“The Senate Ethics Committee has worked diligently for 22 months on this matter and will complete its work in a timely fashion,” the senators said.

Mr Ensign could also be vulnerable to questions about his role in the aftermath of the affair. The husband of his former lover, who was also a former aide to Mr Ensign, has been indicted for illegally lobbying the senator’s staff.

The Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission investigated and then dropped cases against Mr Ensign with little explanation. The ethics committee, however, named a special counsel in February to look into the matter.

In his resignation notice, Mr Ensign said that appointment shook him because he had hoped the investigation would end with the Justice Department.

Mr Ensign announced in June 2009 that he had an extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former member of his campaign staff, and that he had helped her husband, Doug Hampton, a member of his Senate staff, obtain lobbying work with two Nevada companies.

Federal law prohibits a former senior Senate aide from lobbying the Senate for one year after terminating employment.

Mr Ensign announced in March he would not pursue re-election in 2012 to protect his family from campaign attacks involving his role in Doug Hampton’s lobbying career. He added that the Senate investigation hadn’t influenced his decision.

“If I was concerned about that I would have resigned, because that would make the most sense because then it goes away,” he said last month.