Ensign: Husband demanded affair payoff

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., says a former staffer, the husband of a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair, demanded a financial payout from him.

Ensign, in a statement released to news media Friday, contends that Douglas Hampton sought a large payment from him in retaliation for an affair the senator has admitted having. Ensign's staff has given reporters enough background information to clearly identify the unnamed woman as former campaign staffer Cynthia Hampton, wife of fellow former Ensign staffer Doug Hampton, The Washington Post reported.

"Within the past month, Doug Hampton's legal counsel made exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits on behalf of his client," Tory Mazzola, Ensign's spokesman, said in a statement. "Doug Hampton's outrageous demand was referred to Senator Ensign's legal counsel, who is handling the matter going forward."

The Post said Ensign's office refused to say how much money Hampton was allegedly seeking or whether there had been any negotiations over a payout.

Ensign on Tuesday announced that he had an affair with an unnamed former campaign staffer. The Post said Douglas Hampton had shopped the story of the senator's affair to Fox News, which declined to run a story.