ÔIÕm sorry, so sorryÕAside from the moral issue, there are still serious questions about whether Ensign broke any federal laws or Senate rules. Sen. John Ensign John Eric Ensign (born 25 March 1958) is the junior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since January 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. , R-Nev., embarked on an apology tour last week, starting in Fernley in front of a friendly Northern Nevada crowd. Speaking publicly for the first time since he admitted to an affair with a woman who was then a campaign aide, Ensign said he wanted to apologize for his actions, adding that he wanted to work to restore the peopleÕs trust in him. That will be difficult. Ensign first has to overcome his own hypocrisy. He is an evangelical Christian and Promise Keeper who has touted the sanctity of marriage. As a member of the House of Representatives Member of the House of Representatives member n (US) → membre m de la Chambre des représentants in 1998, Ensign called on President Bill Clinton to resign over the presidentÕs dalliance with an intern intern /in·tern/ (in´tern) a medical graduate serving in a hospital preparatory to being licensed to practice medicine. in·tern or in·terne n. , saying the president had lost credibility. Asked last week how his situation was different from ClintonÕs, Ensign said he hadnÕt done Òanything legally wrong.Ó Clinton, however, was never convicted of a crime, so how does that make Ensign morally superior? Morally, EnsignÕs actions are repugnant REPUGNANT. That which is contrary to something else; a repugnant condition is one contrary to the contract itself; as, if I grant you a house and lot in fee, upon condition that you shall not aliens, the condition is repugnant and void. Bac. Ab. Conditions, L. . He had an affair with campaign aide Cynthia Hampton, who happened to be the best friend of EnsignÕs wife. She was also the wife of EnsignÕs chief of staff. Where is the moral virtue in that? Aside from the moral issue, there are still serious questions about whether Ensign broke any federal laws or Senate rules. For example: ¥ How does he explain the $96,000 in ÒgiftsÓ his parents gave to her and her family after the affair ended? Were they legal? ¥ Did he give severance packages to the Hamptons when he fired them? Were those payments legal? ¥ What about questions of sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. or wrongful termination wrongful termination n. a right of an employee to sue his/her employer for damages (loss of wage and "fringe" benefits, and, if against "public policy," for punitive damages). ? What about the promotions and raises he gave her or the job he handed her son? These are just some of the questions Ensign has refused to answer, and that adds to his hypocrisy. He wanted more out of Clinton. In May 1998 Ensign complained that Clinton was Òobstructing the process,Ó before adding, ÒI would just like the truth to come out.Ó So would Nevadans, Senator. Instead of hiding behind the hypocritical hyp·o·crit·i·cal adj. 1. Characterized by hypocrisy: hypocritical praise. 2. Being a hypocrite: a hypocritical rogue. ÒIÕm sorryÓ tour, Ensign should tell Nevadans the whole truth. 
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