A Federal Elections Commission official told the New York Times that the commission took former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) at his word when he told them the $96,000 payment his parents gave to his mistress and her husband was a “gift” and not “severance,” which would have made it illegal.As TPM pointed out last week, the Senate Ethics report on Ensign found that the Nevada Republican called the payout a “severance” in his original statement until his lawyer said that would raise criminal issues. “If this statement doesn’t get the attention of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, then nothing will,” his lawyer wrote in an email uncovered by the Ethics Committee.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=111539