by Larisa Alexandrovna
Edited and updated by Stephen C. Webster
It is looking like someone at Fox News may have exposed a source who came forward with serious allegations about a Republican senator.
The source in question is Doug Hampton, who along with his wife previously worked for Senator John Ensign. Hampton allegedly sent a letter to Fox’s Megyn Kelly about an affair that Sen. Ensign had with Hampton's wife. The letter was allegedly sent some five days before Sen. Ensign publicly confessed his infidelity, leading to speculation that someone at Fox notified Ensign. This morning Fox denied receiving the letter or any communications from Hampton until about a day before Ensign's confession.
Ultimately, when they did follow up with Hampton, Fox News producer Tom Lowell told Huffington Post, they found his claims were not "credible."
"We always evaluate people when they call into the newsroom in terms of: does this sound like its solid? Does it sound like its actionable?" Lowell said. "There were some questions here, so we decided that we would make some inquiries but that it wasn't something we needed to move on immediately. And before we could nail everything down and confirm this story the Senator had already announced his press conference."
Lowell denies that anyone at Fox News would have contacted the senator to give him a head's up on Hampton's allegations.
But it may not be so simple.
Here is a snip from the Las Vegas Sun – which has done exceptional coverage of this story:
"In a letter dated five days before Sen. John Ensign’s public confession of an extramarital affair, Doug Hampton pleaded to a national Fox News anchorwoman for help in exposing the senator’s “heinous conduct and pursuit” of Hampton’s wife.
Hours before the Sun obtained an unsigned copy of the letter, Ensign’s spokesman said the senator disclosed the affair with Cynthia Hampton because her husband had approached “a major television news channel before Tuesday,” the day Ensign admitted the affair. “We learned of this fact before the news conference,” the spokesman noted in an e-mail."
Doug Hampton's letter is chilling, raising serious questions of threats and retaliation from Ensign that should have been considered when someone at Fox seems to have tipped Ensign off. It should be noted that Hampton does not specify the nature of his concerns nor provide supporting materials for his allegations. That said, Hampton does write that he wishes to meet with Fox News to furnish them with the information. Ensign went public only five days later, making it unlikely that Hampton had the time to meet with Fox and present them with the particulars.
Once Ensign went public, however, Fox should have immediately revealed that they had been approached, even if only to make it known they had been working this story. This morning's comment from Lowell does not address the issues. Instead, additional questions are raised.
None of Fox’s reporting on this scandal discloses something as important as Hampton’s reaching out to Kelly, at least not from what I have seen. But does that alone support Fox's claims that they never received the letter? No.
Take for example this article from Fox News, in which it is reported that Ensign came forward about the affair because of extortion and see if you notice anything of importance missing:
"An influential Republican senator went public Tuesday about an extramarital affair he had with a member of his campaign staff -- a decision that FOX News sources say was prompted by a blackmail threat.
Two Senate Republican sources close to Sen. John Ensign of Nevada told FOX News that a former employee had asked Ensign for money in what both sources described as a case of "extortion."
The employee, Doug Hampton, worked in Ensign's Senate office, and his wife, Cindy Hampton, worked for Ensign's re-election campaign. Both ceased working for the senator shortly after the affair ended, the sources said, with Cindy Hampton receiving a severance package. The circumstances of Doug Hampton's departure remain unclear.
---snip---
Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008 with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee in Ensign's Senate office, however, it wasn't immediately clear whether the Hamptons were the couple in question. Ensign, 51, said he would not mention the name of the campaign aide involved in the affair. He described the woman and her husband as good friends."
Fox News does not mention that they already knew of the allegations or that they already knew of Hampton’s identity. After all, Hampton did email them - they have confirmed this. Regardless of what happened with the letter, they already knew who Hampton was and what his allegations were. Even if we assume that Fox did not get Hampton's letter, the ethical lapse here is troubling.
They have reported on a story that they had been tipped off to in which at least one major allegation - the affair - was confirmed by all parties, and the person tipping them off is the spouse of the woman having an affair with a Senator. They mention none of this in any of their reporting. So why should we trust them when they say they did not receive the letter?
If we take the allegations at face value, however, then Fox had the letter five days before Ensign came forward, making the extortion claim a bit questionable. In addition, there seems to be no attempt to contact Doug Hampton for comment, even though he has already contacted them. Why?
In another article, Fox News once again makes no mention of the letter, the email - now confirmed - nor seem to be terribly interested in the other side of the story. They do not contact the Hamptons about the extortion claim they are reporting on. Why?
Prior to Fox's denials this morning, the Las Vegas Sun approached Kelly for comment before they published Hampton's letter. Kelly, however, declined to comment which, given her day job, is astounding. She is a journalist and the subject of a story tip could publicly incriminate her or someone on her team of violating something as sacrosanct as source confidentiality. Why would she at least personally confirm if she had gotten the letter or not? Why would she not confirm that she had gotten the email? Why did she not say what Lowell has said?
When you are reading the letter Hampton wrote to Kelly, reprinted below in full, the following questions should be kept in mind. Also keep in mind that we don't know for sure if the letter ever reached her. We do, however, now know that an email reached Lowell 24 hours prior to Ensign's presser:
-Why does Hampton seem to place all of the blame on Ensign for the affair? It seems to me that he is suggesting that the couple were under financial pressure and that Ensign was somehow threatening them. He also appears to be concerned for his safety. Again, although Hampton does not provide evidence to support his allegations, he indicates that he will furnish Fox with additional information when the network and he meet.
-Did Fox actually work the story and contact Ensign for comment in the process, thereby informing him of the story? If so, where is that story and why won’t Kelly say so? If Kelly and team were not working the story, then why not? What did they do with the information?
-How did Ensign find out that Hampton had approached Fox? Or did Ensign not know for sure it was Fox, but somehow know that Hampton had approached a major media outlet? Having received countless letters from various people asking me to look at their stories, I can tell you that the only people who know the tips and leads you are working on are you and your editor (once you inform him or her).
Granted, Kelly has a TV show and it is possible that she first went to Fox lawyers rather than investigate the matter. Still, if that is the case, why not simply explain that she was in the early process of the investigation rather than not comment at all when asked about the letter? Considering that Ensign came forward only five days after the letter was allegedly sent, Kelly's lack of explanation on the matter is especially troubling. Considering too that at the very least, Kelly's team was informed of Hampton's allegations and concerns 24 hours prior to Ensign coming forward, again making Kelly's silence very troubling.
-Think about this. Ensign had to organize his approach, speak to his family, lawyers, and the RNC and even get a speech together. Five days is not a great deal of time to do all of this. So assuming Kelly got the letter and then did tip Ensign off - and we don't yet know for sure if that is the case - it is likely that it would have happened within the first few days.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Fox News- Corporate Office
1211 Avenue of the America’s (sic)
New York, New York 10036
Megyn Kelly,
My name is Doug Hampton. I am a former employee of US (sic) Senator John Ensign. I worked for Senator Ensign in his official government office on Capitol Hill from November 2006 to April 2008. My responsibilities were the oversight of his personnel in Washington as well as the state of Nevada. Duties included budgets, policy and public speaking on behalf of the Senator and his initiatives.
Here is my story. In December of 2007 in the midst of some very difficult personal issues that deeply impacted my family and marriage, Senator Ensign pursued and engaged in a relationship with my wife. Our families were lifelong friends, our children attend school together to this day, and our homes are in neighborhoods across from each other. My wife was the Senator’s campaign treasurer.
There is a tremendous amount (sic) of details and critical facts associated with this story and their relationship that will not be addressed in this letter but are very important and need to be further explored if you choose to meet with me. The purpose of this letter is to establish the framework for discussion and provide enough information to warrant a meeting with you and Fox News. This is the only letter of its kind and no other news stations have been contacted with this information. I have great respect and affection for Fox News and many of your collages (sic). I’m sending this to you because you have a legal back ground (sic) and this story has several legal elements.
The unethical behavior and immoral choice of Senator Ensign has been confronted by me and others on a number of occasions over this past year. In fact one of the confrontations took place in February 2008 at his home in Washington DC (sic) with a group of his peers. One of the attendee’s (sic) was Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma as well as several other men who are close to the Senator. Senator Ensign’s conduct and relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal in April of 2008. I would like to say he stopped his heinous conduct and pursuit upon our leaving, but that was not the case and his actions did not subside until August of 2008.
The actions of Senator Ensign have ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles. We have lost significant income, suffered indescribable pain and emotional suffering. We find ourselves today with an overwhelming loss of relationships, career opportunities and hope for recovery. Our pursuit of justice continues to place me and my family in harm’s way as we fear for our well being (sic).
Today, Senator Ensign’s responsibility and stature have increased within the US (sic) Senate. His is currently the head of “Policy” for the Republican Party, the number four position within the Parties (sic) leadership team. We on the other hand are completely ruined and left to deal with the aftermath of very evil and completely unjustifiable acts by one of our countries (sic) top leaders.
It appears there may be nothing the law can do to correct and bring justice and restitution to (sic) this terrible wrong that has been done to us. I have sought a number of lawyers who are having difficulty finding charges that may hold up in court. There are either technicalities that exist due to the time period in which I have sought help, or other nuances that quite frankly make no sense to me given the egregious acts and blatant abuse of power by Senator Ensign. From my perspective this whole nightmare is terribly wrong and completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated.
I clearly understand this story is difficult to believe for anyone reading (sic) for the first time. I too would have difficulty believing it, if someone brought me this story. However I assure you it is true and there are facts, a paper trail, phone records and personal witnesses to testify to its truth. It is my belief we are dealing with a very powerful person and an institution in the US (sic) Senate that only the media can pierce to expose the wrong and bring light and focus to what needs to be done? (sic)
Please help me! This should not be how the leadership of our country should be allowed to behave. I need justice, help and restitution for what Senator Ensign has done to me and my family. Regardless of technicalities, regardless of position, regardless of power this cannot and should not be tolerated in our country from our trusted leaders. Will you help? Will you consider a meeting with me to further discuss this story and what can be done to bring justice and correction to this situation?
I love this country and considered it a great privilege to work in the US (sic) Senate. I am bringing this to you and Fox News to address this professionally and correctly. I could have sought the most liberal, Republican hating media to expose this story, but there are people’s lives at stake and justice is about proper process as well as outcome. Senator Ensign has no business serving in the US (sic) Senate anymore! I will send you and (sic) email as well as leave you and your staff messages in an attempt to meet you and your team as soon as possible. I live and work in Nevada but can be in New York within hours, I look forward to your help.
Tags: Cynthia Hampton, Doug Hampton, Ethics in Journalism, Fox News, Larisa Alexandrovna, Megyn Kelly, Senator John Ensign
rofl, fake news verifies their news sources?
amazing, they exclude 99% of truth and use 99% of misrepresentation and lies.
Dun & Bradstreet tells us it’s the “trusted leader in delivering actionable information solutions that drive your business to success.”
Intelliseek sells a product called CIS that “converts information found in customer postings and media coverage into actionable reports.”
CashEdge, Inc., offers “Actionable Aggregation.”
Why on earth, I wonder, do so many companies promise to expose their clients to lawsuits? That’s what the word “actionable” means: giving cause for legal action. It’s still the one and only dictionary definition.
The copywriters for Dun & Bradstreet, et al, clearly think that “actionable” means “something you can act on.” That’s a logical conclusion. It’s probably what the word should mean. But it doesn’t.
If the “actionable” is misused often enough, and long enough, it will acquire a secondary definition. But, in the meantime, the misuse will draw a double-take and possibly a raising of hackles from readers familiar with the dictionary definition of the word.
I hate to raise a problem without having a perfect solution. Unfortunately, there isn’t a word that means what “actionable” ought to. All I can suggest are near misses like performable, doable, practicable, operational, workable, executable, or a longer construction like “reports you can act on.”
Those may seem like weak substitutes. But at least they aren’t actionable.
The man Hampton was obviously very upset when he wrote his letter, so maybe that explains his poor writing. One hopes that people working directly for a senator would have more polished thinking and writing skills. (Then again, too many senators are hardly stellar, so why would the people working for them be?)
Hampton's mistake was in telling FOX that it was a REPUBLICAN. If FOX had thought it was a Dem, they would have sent out Griff to Get To The Bottom Of Things.
The biggest laugh I got out of the story was referring to FOX as a "major news outlet." ROFLMFAO
One thing I have learned in life is that Republicans are deviants.
I like how he mentioned that, 'justice is about proper process,' and then entrusts FOX News to go through the proper channels.
I don't know who's lying and who's telling the truth here, but if history bears out, I'm guessing that it will be FOX. Not that it will ever be looked into, but...
At least they're running the story about how the Pentagon classifies protesting as low level terrorism. They're really not much worse than any of the other major media outlets, they just hire people that are a bit more the asshole.
There's an ad for the Church of the Latter Day Saints obscuring the first part of the article. Oh well...
Where does it say that Fox promised him confidentiality?
Just because someone approaches the media with a story they want kept confidential, doesn't mean that the media has promised to do that.
Very little sympathy for this mewling diaperhead.
1) He chose to be a republican
2) He chose to WORK for a republican
3) He...hahaha...he trusted FoxNews! OMG, is he kidding? Leave alone the notion that they are an actual news organization (they aren't), but trustworthy? Objective? Especially when it comes to protecting a member of the GOP? Puh-lease.
4) He let another man sleep with and continue to sleep with his wife, and does little more than fire off an emotional letter to a talking head on a propaganda network. What. A. Wuss.
Sorry, Hampton:
you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
I hope, for your kids' sake, you can sort this out and reboot your life, but sympathy? Not coming from this corner.
cuckold Hampton fits right in with Shemp Hannity, Flush, O'Liely and Fallus Admirer.....................
Scumbags covering for scumbags - how very typical of the GOP.
Spot on bonkers, spot on. I believe he let this happen because he thought of the potential benefits he may get from contracts to cush jobs etc.. But since that didn't pan out and he broke it off with his wife, he decided to out his wifes "john". In essence he was acting like a suitcase pimp for his wife. As long as she brought in the money he didn't care what was going on.
This smells wrong. Why would Hampton try to OUT a philandering Senator with presidential aspirations by going to the propaganda arm of the party who would be trying to get that same philandering Senator elected?
why fox?...you idiot!!...was ensign paying hampton to dick his wife??...
Who in their right mind would ever believe that Fox Noise would be honest about anything? With a staff of Reich-wing pitbulls(O'Hannity,O'Reilly, and yes,even Megyn O'Kelly) that edit every piece they do to benefit the Republi-con Party, why would this not be business as usual. When a liberal does something unsavory they crucify them, and when a conservative does something unsavory, Fox stills tries to blame a liberal for it.
It's my opinion that at least a couple other outlets would have contacted Ensign and tipped-him-off. Consider that they're all a part of the same power structure, if not outright "old boys" networks (pun sadly intended). These kinds of abuses of power shouldn't surprise anyone now, but they should still shock us into being intolerant of them.
Wow Ross unbelievable!
At any rate, this is what you get when you deal with phoney people!
The whole kit n kaboodle / rethuglicans will continue to say one thing
and do another!
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 signed by frankly our best republican President Bill Clinton allowed this fake news / fox news one company can own all aspects of media! The act also led to the 400 Million Dollar Man aka
rush (druggie) limbaugh!
Of one thing we can all be certain: There is no truth emanating from the mouths of Rupert Murdoch's "media bots" - not now/not ever. This qualifies for the classification of "media pimps" or "media prostitutes" - lying whether on one's back or via one's larynx for a paycheck!
Why would anyone watch Fox Noise in the first place? Unless you want to feel like a flaming eejit around the water cooler in the morning, there is no credibility left to the hater's mouthpieces on Fox. That goes for the Bouncey Boy, Limpballs as well.
All haters - All Fox has.
GOP=Party of No
Fox=Station of Liars
Check out the salary history for Doug Hampton. Why is he making more than $100k per year and listed as an administrative assistant. See this link:
http://www.legistorm.com/person/Douglas_D_Hampton/36979.html
Mr. Hampton is quite a catch. One wonders why his wife had an affair with a similar loser, liar, hypocrite and fool.
Why someone would expect Fox news to not run straight to the horse's mouth of its talking points (the GOP) is also a loser, liar, hypocrite and a fool.
Next thing you'll know; Mrs. Hampton will be interviewed by those she is magnetically drawn to; losers, liars, hypocrites and fools: fox supposed reporters.
Not long ago the Republican structure was reduced to eating its own in addition to eating others. Now, apparently, they have eaten all others whom they could eat and are only left with having each other to eat. Good feast, buddies! Good feast!
No mystery. FOX contacted Ensign in order to warn him, and smeared Hampton.
Fox News/ The Glorious Official Republican Government News Network is a GOP propaganda organ first and a fictional news organization second.
"We Distort, You Absorb"... all attack, all the time.
Who cares: at least this time it is just Repukes screwing Repukes. As long as they keep it in the family, I could G.A.F.
Now, if he had been arrested beating the snot out of this smarmy "rising Republican star", I'd have some sympathy.
Do not take actual news to Fox news. They will not report on it if it will take the GOP down. FOX news works hand in hand with the GOP as a propaganda department for the GOP. Everyone should understand that by now. If you have information or a news item that shows the GOP in a bad light, remember to break the story on other news outlets. Anywhere except FOX news since theybury bad news for the GOP.
"I am bringing this to you and Fox News to address this professionally and correctly. I could have sought the most liberal, Republican hating media to expose this story, but there are people’s lives at stake and justice is about proper process as well as outcome."
----------
Ha ha ha ha ha! Chump Hampton! You got what you deserved.
[...] action movies, Tom Cruise and John Travolta have been accused of persuading Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News to sack an influential entertainment journalist who had a history of criticising the Church of [...]
This is from Huffington Post's article:
"There were some questions here, so we decided that we would make some inquiries but that it wasn't something we needed to move on immediately. And before we could nail everything down and confirm this story the Senator had already announced his press conference...."
Regarding Fox's denial that they did NOT give Ensign a heads up: Who exactly, then, did they did they, "make some inquiries"? How did they attempt to "naileverything down and confirm"? Did they ask Ensign, Darlene, Coburn? How do you confirm info on a US Senator without it getting back to said Senator? This sounds SOOOOO fishy.
Hampton, you worked for republicans for how long and still believed in their phony "family values" message? You don't need justice. You need someone to wake you up. After you are awake, then take another look at the republican party. And you have been surprised that you received no empathy? Remember, republicans don't do empathy.
On June 15, 2009, Foxnews published this story:
"Sources Say 'Extortion' Threat Was Behind GOP Senator's Admission of Affair With Staff Member"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/16/gop-senator-admits-extramarital-affair-campaign-staffer/
This was after Hampton's letter was written, and before the Sun disclosed it.
In other words, if Fox did receive the letter they deliberately contradicted it publicly, i.e., lied.
[...] Fox News OUT A SOURCE in an effort to protect Republican Sen. John Ensign? Oh, and did Ensign’s sexual [...]
Send a rock solid story to FAUX NEWS, at the same time send a copy to a "real" NEWS source.Sit back and see the fireworks!
Hysterical.
"OMG! After years of active participation in our corrupt system I am now being victimized myself! I know, I'll rat the system out to our official propaganda organization - they'll expose this behavior and return me to my place as oppressor rather than oppressed!"
I don't know which is funnier: that Hampton is a mewing lackey that doesn't understand his place in the pecking order or Fox New's ham-handed attempts at coverup and slander.
Seriously, isn't it illegal for the US government to collude with Fox News to deceive the American people? Shouldn't it be illegal for the Republican Party to own a "news" outlet that isn't clearly labeled as a partisan organization?
[...] source in question is Doug Hampton, who along with his wife previously worked for Senator John Ensign. Hampton allegedly sent a letter [...]
He took the tip to Fox New?? What a fool.
This guy went to the Fox(Faux GOP Propaganda) News Network with his story and didn't think these weasels and vermin would protect their own bought and paid for schill Senator Ensign. Does he have a tatoo on his forehead that says "Schmuck" on it? Oh, and it sure seemed OK to pimp his wife off while he was getting a nice paycheck and his wife's salary had doubled. Typical Reich-wing Republican.