“The Senate Ethics Committee has worked diligently for 22 months on this matter and will complete its work in a timely fashion,” said a statement from Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairman of the panel, and ranking member Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said in a statement. In his resignation statement Thursday, Ensign cited “further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings, or especially public hearings” as his rationale for quitting to spare his family from further public humiliation. Earlier this year Ensign released a statement saying the Justice Department had ended the criminal investigation into his case, although Justice has never publicly confirmed that.
– John Ensign may have quit to avoid further scrutiny of his peccadilloes, but the Senate ethics investigation into his affair with a campaign staffer will go on, reports the Washington Post. “Senator Ensign has made the appropriate decision," said a statement from Sens. Barbara Boxer and Johnny Isakson, who are leading the inquiry. However, “The Senate Ethics Committee has worked diligently for 22 months on this matter and will complete its work in a timely fashion." Ensign will step down May 3, notes Politico, a day before he was to be deposed. The ethics panel loses jurisdiction when Ensign leaves office, notes the Post, but could still release a report of its findings—precisely the sort of further embarrassment Ensign was seeking to avoid. It could also refer the case to the Justice Department, which has been conducting a criminal investigation. Click for more on Ensign's career and scandal.