Coburn Denies Assisting Ensign

Talking Points Memo reports:

If the Senate Ethics Committee's report on the ethics scandals of former Sen. John Ensign were a movie, the Nevada Republican would no doubt be the star -- but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) would get second billing.

Coburn's role as an intermediary between his friend and former roommate Ensign and Doug Hampton, the husband of the woman Ensign was having an affair with, has been pretty well established. Coburn has denied playing the role of negotiator over the amount of money Ensign should pay the Hamptons.

But other people involved told investigators say Coburn, whose name is mentioned 46 times in the Ethics Committee's report, played a pretty crucial role. And the report indicates that Coburn might not have given investigators the whole story.