Name:   GoneFishin - Subject:   Typical GOP Have Mommy & Daddy Pay For It Date:   5/19/2013 4:35:44 PM

Ex-Sen. Ensign to pay $32,000 penalty in affair saga

By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY 6:36 p.m. EDT May 17, 2013

His parents also agreed to pay $22,000 to settle Federal Election Commission charges.

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Sen. John Ensign's campaign and his parents have agreed to pay a combined $54,000 in civil penalties to the Federal Election Commission to settle allegations that his parents' $96,000 payment to his ex-mistress and her family amounted to an excessive campaign contribution.

The penalties were disclosed by the agency Friday afternoon and are the latest twist in a long-running saga that prompted the Nevada Republican, once a rising star in his party, to resign from Congress in 2011.

In 2009, Ensign admitted to an extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former campaign staffer whose husband, Douglas Hampton, also worked as a top aide to the senator.

Ensigns' parents paid $96,000 to the Hampton family. Federal regulators and the Senate Ethics Committee argued it was not a personal gift but a severance payment that amounted an excessive political contribution that should have been disclosed on Ensign's campaign filings. At the time of the payment, individuals could not donate more than $2,300 to a federal candidate for either a primary or general election.

Under the newly disclosed deal, Ensign agreed to pay $32,000 in penalties. His parents, Michael and Sharon Ensign, will pay $22,000, according to the FEC documents.

Ensign and his parents are not admitting any guilt, but say they are settling to resolve the matter "expeditiously" and "to avoid the expense of litigation."