The Blog

Politico this morning reported that the Department of Justice probe into the aftermath of Senator John Ensign’s affair with an ex-staffer will not prevent the Senate Ethics Committee from pursuing its own investigation.  Said the Politico piece:

Unlike those of its House counterpart, the Senate Ethics Committee’s rules do not formally bar the panel from taking up a case in which the Justice Department or other law enforcement agency is involved. But the Senate committee does traditionally stand aside in such instances.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Ethics Committee, declined to comment on the Ensign case. But her Republican counterpart, Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, indicated that the panel was prepared to move forward with its own probe, regardless of involvement by the Justice Department or the FBI.

According to Politico, the committee contacted the DOJ to determine their level of interest in the case:

“My take is that Justice is not thinking this case is going to amount to criminal charges,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. “Otherwise, they [might] be a little more worried that statements made to the Ethics Committee would taint their case.”

Stan Brand, a veteran ethics lawyer, said the Justice Department is most likely “informally gathering information” and hasn’t decided yet whether to move forward with a full-blown criminal investigation of Ensign, meaning the Senate Ethics Committee is not interfering with a criminal case by conducting its own probe.

It will be interesting to note not only the outcome but the timing of either a full-blown DOJ investigation or possible sanctions by the ethics committee – and to see whether Republican candidates will choose to distance themselves from Senator Ensign at that time.  Many Nevada candidates for public office have already said they will not be seeking Ensign’s help with their campaigns.