If former Sen. John Ensign ever sees the inside of a courtroom as a result of the sex scandal that destroyed his political career, the key witness against him may be his once-loyal chief of staff, John Lopez.
Granted immunity by a federal judge, Lopez — a longtime aide who served as Ensign’s top staffer from 2006 to 2009 — provided damaging testimony against Ensign to the Senate Ethics Committee, allegations that could lead to federal criminal charges for the Nevada Republican.
Lopez claims Ensign improperly pressured political supporters and donors to hire former staffer Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign’s mistress; directed Lopez to act as an intermediary for allegedly illegal lobbying contacts between Hampton and the senator’s office beginning in May 2008; and initiated an office policy to shred or delete sensitive documents and emails related to Ensign’s extramarital affair with Cindy Hampton.
And Lopez acknowledged he lied to the press — including POLITICO — about Ensign’s interaction with Doug Hampton after the then-senator’s obsessive affair with Cindy Hampton, a former campaign aide, exploded into public view in June 2009. Lopez said he did so to protect Ensign’s reputation and political career.
Lopez has turned over to ethics investigators more than 2,000 emails from his time in Ensign’s office, including hundreds stored on his own personal laptop, according to the Ethics Committee report.
“Keep in mind, I was still drinking the Kool-Aid at that point,” Lopez told investigators.
“And I was just in way over my head,” he added.
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