Report: Santorum Tipped Off Ensign

Politico reports:

Rick Santorum alerted Sen. John Ensign in 2009 that the husband of Ensign's mistress wanted to go public with the affair that ultimately ended the Nevada Republican's Senate career, according to a Senate ethics committee report released Thursday.

After Doug Hampton — then a top Ensign aide whose wife was involved with the senator — emailed Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly seeking a meeting to discuss the affair, Hampton also shared the email with Santorum seeking his help. Santorum quickly passed the email onto Ensign, according to the ethics committee report.

It wasn't immediately clear why Hampton sought help from Santorum, a former Senate colleague of Ensign's. Hampton had previously suggested that Santorum got wind of his email to Kelly by virtue of his position at Fox News, but the ethics report says Hampton contacted Santorum directly.

The same night that Santorum reportedly tipped him off, Ensign held an hours-long staff meeting and disclosed that he had an affair with Cynthia Hampton, which was soon followed by a public apology in Las Vegas.

Santorum is not accused of wrongdoing, and an aide to Santorum’s exploratory presidential campaign did not immediately comment.