Grand jury subpoenas issued in Sen. Ensign probe

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal grand jury reportedly has issued subpoenas in a probe of Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who has been under scrutiny for his efforts to find lobbying work for the husband of his former mistress.

According to one subpoena obtained by a Las Vegas television station, recipients were ordered to testify March 31 in Washington, D.C., and to turn over documents relating to the Republican senator.

TV station KLAS reported Thursday that the subpoenas went to six unnamed Las Vegas businesses. One of the subpoenas posted on the station's Web site blacks out the recipient's identity.

The FBI and Senate Ethics Committee are investigating whether Ensign tried to limit political damage from an affair he had with the wife of one of his Senate aides by conspiring to help the aide find a new job as a lobbyist, which might have violated restrictions on lobbying by former congressional staff.

Federal criminal law prohibits congressional aides from lobbying their ex-bosses or office colleagues for one year after departing their Hill jobs.

Ensign acknowledged the relationship with Cynthia Hampton last June. In addition to Ensign's helping her husband, Doug Hampton, gain employment with a lobbying firm, Ensign's parents provided the Hamptons with a payment of $96,000 that they described as a gift.

The affair ended in 2008; Ensign is married.

Hampton told The New York Times last year that, in coordination with the senator and his staff, he played a significant role in pushing the Washington agendas of NV Energy, the largest power company in Nevada, and Allegiant Air, a Las Vegas-based discount airline.