Sen. Ensign's Breakup Letter to Mistress Emerges
"God never intended us to do this," Ensign wrote in the handwritten letter, which was obtained by the Las Vegas Sun. "I walked away from Him + my relationship with Him has suffered terribly. I know He loves me + I know He loves you. He wants to restore [wife] Darlene + me + wants to restore Doug + you."
Ensign also said he "justified my actions because I blamed by wife."
The "Doug" referenced in the letter is Doug Hampton, who along with his wife Cynthia were staffers for the senator. The Sun reported Wednesday that Hampton said Ensign would not give up the affair even after intermediaries tried to get him to do so, among them Sen. Tom Coburn, a fellow conservative Republican.
Coburn's office released a statement that the senator "did everything he could to encourage Senator Ensign to end his affair and to persuade Senator Ensign to repair the damage he had caused to his own marriage and the Hampton's marriage."
"Had Senator Ensign followed Dr. Coburn's advice, this episode would have ended, and been made public, long ago," the statement continued.
Watch part of Jon Ralston's interview with Hampton from CBS Las Vegas affiliate KLAS-TV at left.The Sun also reports that Hampton says his wife was paid more than $25,000 in severance after leaving Ensign's office, a potential violation of campaign finance law if it went unreported to the appropriate campaign committees.
The affair began while the Hamptons were staying at the Coburns' home following a break-in at their home, according to Doug Hampton, and was revealed to him when he saw a text message. Ensign and Cynthia Hampton were reportedly "bonded by their conservative evangelical faith."
Ensign's office claims that "Doug Hampton's legal counsel made exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits." Hampton sent a letter to Fox News in June saying Ensign had ruined the life and career of himself and his wife and that he needs "justice, help and restitution for what Senator Ensign has done to me and my family."
Hampton told the Sun that Ensign disavowed the breakup letter excerpted above soon after sending it and continued with the affair. He claims the senator told him at the time that he was in love with Cynthia.