Ensign: Republicans ‘Want Me Involved in Their Campaigns’; Job Help for Doug Hampton Was ‘Common Practice’

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: In his most extensive interview since acknowledging his extramarital affair, Sen. John Ensign told a conservative radio host in his home state today that he will not resign his seat — and said he anticipates hitting the campaign trail for other conservative candidates in 2010. “I was elected to a six-year term by the people of Nevada, and I fully intend on serving that out,” Ensign, R-Nev., told KXNT-AM's Alan Stock. “A lot of people running for office next year, I’ve met with them. They actually want me involved in their campaigns. I want to be helpful, without being hurtful.” Ensign, who is up for reelection in 2012 and ran the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2008 election cycle, did not mention any candidate who has sought his help in 2010. Ensign also offered his most detailed explanation to date about his efforts to the husband of his former mistress land a job after he left his staff. In an interview on “Nightline” earlier this month, Doug Hampton told ABC’s Cynthia McFadden that Ensign helped launch his short-lived lobbying career by soliciting clients for him — notwithstanding the ban on high-ranking aides lobbying the Senate for a year after leaving their jobs. In today’s radio interview, Ensign doesn’t deny helping Hampton find work. But he maintains that he did nothing illegal or even unusual in helping his longtime friend and aide. “Here’s exactly what happened: When I was a veterinarian, when I was in the House of Representatives and in the Senate — current employees, former employees, I’ve recommended countless numbers over the years, gotten them jobs. The same thing that I did with Doug Hampton — recommended him, didn’t say, ‘hey, hire him,’ just recommended him for jobs,” Ensign said. “What’s interesting about that is, the vast majority of people did not hire him. Only a couple of people ended up taking him on, having him being their representative. But it’s a very common practice. It’s perfectly legal. I complied with all Senate ethics rules and applicable laws.” Ensign repeated his willingness to speak with members of the Ethics Committee, or federal investigators, in connection with his actions. On the affair itself, Ensign told Stock: “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done.” “Do I regret it? If I could ever take anything back in my life, this would be the one thing I would take back,” he said. “It was a huge mistake. It was a terrible thing, and there’s no way that I could justify it.” “I have had standards — have standards. I didn’t meet those standards. That didn’t mean the standards are wrong,” he continued. “I still believe in fidelity in marriage. I violated that; that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in that. It’s the right principle. I continue to stand on that.” Asked whether he regretted asking for Bill Clinton’s resignation in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky affair, Ensign didn’t answer directly: “I look at it this way: In my own life, I need to focus on, if I make a mistake, on fixing my own problems, instead of worrying about other people.”