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WASHINGTON – The Senate Ethics Committee has referred the case of past Sen. John Ensign to the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission.

The NGO body feature the enquiry found aggregation that Ensign and others desecrated laws.

Ensign hopeless May 3 kinda than grappling a continuing Senate investigating that could hit included open hearings most his intimacy with Cynthia Hampton, a past crusade aide. She's the spouse of politico Hampton, who was Ensign's co-chief of staff.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check backwards presently for boost information. AP's earlier story is below.

Senate Ethics Committee body prepared on weekday to divulge aggregation most the enquiry of past Sen. John Ensign, whose carry came low scrutiny after an intimacy with the spouse of a past top Ensign aide.

The Senate cannot penalise a senator no individual serving, but could attain referrals to the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission for boost enquiry of the Nevada Republican.

Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Vice Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said they would address the Senate.

Ensign hopeless May 3 kinda than grappling a continuing Senate investigating that could hit included open hearings most his intimacy with Cynthia Hampton, a past crusade aide. She's the spouse of politico Hampton, who was Ensign's co-chief of staff.

The enquiry has convergent on at small digit developments that followed disclosure of the affair.

Ensign's parents paying the jazzman kinsfolk $96,000, upbringing the question of whether the money was an banned effort to the senator's campaign. politico jazzman said the money was a cutting payment.

Another pore was Ensign's connection to politico Hampton's impact as a lobbyist for digit Nevada firms after he left Ensign's staff. Federal accumulation prohibits a grownup Senate helper from lobbying the Senate for digit assemblage after success employment.

Hampton has been indicted on charges of lobbying Ensign and his body in violation of that restriction. He pleaded not guilty.

Ensign himself came low a Justice Department enquiry into whether he conspired with jazzman to violate the lobbying law.

Ensign's lawyers said last Dec that the Justice Department conversant them that he was no individual the direct of an investigation.

However, the NGO may hit extensive material that could restore a criminal investigation. Likewise, the NGO could hit aggregation that would welfare the FEC, which has previously dismissed a complaint against Ensign over the $96,000 payment.

The instrument said that patch lobbying for Allegiant Air, a low-cost carrier in Las Vegas, jazzman desired the assistance of Ensign and a legislative helper to Ensign. jazzman desired support in convincing the Transportation Department to reconsider its function on a fuel surcharge pricing issue, the instrument said.

Hampton allegedly desired the aid of Ensign and his body to support schedule a March 2009 meeting involving the helper of installation and executives from the line company.

The instrument said that, on behalf of NV Energy, the maximal electricity bourgeois in Nevada, jazzman desired assistance from Ensign and his chief of body to aid the release of a U.S. Interior Department environmental impact statement regarding a coal-fired power plant.

The effort was fashioned to earmark the forcefulness consort to advise nervy on its delayed proposal to physique the plant, the instrument said.

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