Republican Sen. John Ensign Had Extramarital Affair

Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign has admitted to an extramarital affair with a married staffer. Ensign, a staunch opponent of gay marriage and a 2012 Presidential hopeful, said "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions." In 1998, Ensign called on former President Bill Clinton to resign when details of Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky became public.

Politico reports that Ensign's admission and public apology come at the heels of a blackmail attempt by the campaign staffer's husband:

Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began an affair with a staffer several months after he separated from his wife. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package and parted ways.

Sometime later, a Nevada source said, Ensign met with the husband of the woman involved and had what this source described as a positive encounter. Sources said that the man subsequently asked Ensign for a substantial sum of money – at which point Ensign decided to make the affair public. In his Las Vegas press conference, Ensign declined to give specifics about the woman involved but did say she and “her husband were close friends and both of them worked for me.”