WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- A grand jury investigating U.S. Sen. John Ensign's adulterous affair has subpoenaed the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Ensign has acknowledged the affair, and his sexual conduct is not the issue, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The grand jury and the Senate Ethics Committee are trying to determine if Ensign broke the law or ethics rules by soliciting lobbying work for his lover's husband.
In addition to the NRSC, two Nevada Republicans have received subpoenas. Sig Rogich, an adviser to two presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, told the newspaper he got subpoenas from the Justice Department and the committee.
Rogich said he had one short meeting with Ensign and his former aide, Doug Hampton. Hampton's wife, Cindy, who also worked for Ensign, had an affair with the married senator for nine months in 2007 and 2008.
While Ensign remains in the Senate, at least until his current term ends in January 2013, he has reportedly been cut off by former allies.
"What he has done is jeopardize a U.S. Senate seat and bring embarrassment to his state, not to mention subpoenas to people who have nothing to do with it," a source described as a Republican insider told the Review Journal.
