The Nevada Sagebrush

Taylor R. Anderson

I’ve written about Senator John Ensign’s (R-Nev.) now-infamous sex scandal and the attempted cover-up. Almost six months have passed and it’s approaching a year since the June 2009 announcement by the senator of his affair. Now, more information is surfacing about the possible illegal actions taken by Ensign after the affair ended.

We learned last week that a federal grand jury has issued subpoenas for the people directly involved in hiding it, the businesses that Ensign solicited to find a job for his mistress’s husband and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The grand jury has asked that the NRSC turn over any documents regarding Ensign’s term as chair of the organization from 2007 to 2008.

During this time, Ensign was responsible for getting Republicans elected to the Senate, but it’s also when the affair occurred.

From this information, we can assume the grand jury is trying to find evidence of Ensign using NRSC funds for his personal needs or to engage in any actions that could be questionable.

As with any federal investigation, the Department of Justice must get an indictment from a grand jury. A grand jury is made of citizens who examine evidence provided by the prosecution to determine if there is enough to file criminal charges and proceed to a trial. The person under a grand jury investigation cannot present a defense and is often unaware of the grand jury until an indictment is handed down.

A grand jury investigation can take six months to a year or longer. But now that we know one has been called and subpoenas were issued, how much longer will it be before Ensign does the right thing and resigns? How can anyone in good conscience continue in a position of public trust while under investigation for a federal crime?

Setting aside the morality of what Ensign did and the obvious hypocrisy, how can Republicans claim that others should step down and Ensign should be allowed to continue?

It’s telling how remarkably silent the Republican Party and the Republican Senate caucus have been throughout this almost yearlong stumble down the holier-than-thou mountain for Ensign. Not one fellow Republican senator has called for him to step down, even though Ensign was one of the first to call for Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to step down after his “wide stance” incident in a men’s rest room and the subsequent guilty plea.

It’s only a matter of time before the light shines through and reveals the entirety of this charade. With subpoenas being served to Nevada political heavyweights like political consultant Sig Rogich and Pete Ernaut of R&R Partners, one can only wonder how long it will be before the dam breaks and silent support for Ensign drains away.

If the grand jury indicts Ensign, there’s no way the investigation and trial will be finished before the 2012 election when Ensign’s term is up. Ensign should save taxpayers the trouble. He should resign after the 2010 election and allow the new governor to appoint his successor.

Follow Taylor R. Anderson at www.twitter.com/ander517 or contact him at perspectives@nevadasagebrush.com.

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