Like Governor, Like Senator [Updated]

So-called "born again" Christian John Ensign, best known for his hair style, emulates the disgraced and disgraceful governor of Nevada, but he at least admits to an extramarital dalliance.

Here's the scoop on the poop or poop on the scoop:

An aide in Ensign's office said the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008, with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee in Ensign's Senate office. Neither have worked for the senator since May 2008. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity.

Will Ensign resign?

The aide declined to comment on whether Ensign would resign. Ensign scheduled a news conference in Las Vegas for later Tuesday. Ensign did not participate earlier Tuesday in a vote concerning the ailing travel industry, an unusual absence considering the topic's relevance in his home state.

"I know that I have deeply hurt and disappointed my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my staff and the people of Nevada who believed in me not just as a legislator but as a person," Ensign said.

Ensign's wife, Darlene, also released a statement about the affair.

"Since we found out last year we have worked through the situation and we have come to a reconciliation. This has been difficult on both families. With the help of our family and close friends our marriage has become stronger," Mrs. Ensign said.

Edit: He will not resign.

This latest revelation may cause the increasingly outspoken Ensign to shut up for awhile.

It's possible a presidential run is in the future.

I am sure more details will be forthcoming.

Like I said, more details are forthcoming. Politico says blackmail is involved in this case, so Ensign had no choice but to go public:

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.”