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Ex-Ensign aide faces Dec. 15 trial on battery charge
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RENO -- A one-time aide to former U.S. Sen. John Ensign awaits trial Dec. 15 on charges he grabbed his wife by the throat during an argument and pushed her.
The trial date for Kevin Kirkeby was set Wednesday in East Fork Justice Court in Minden, two days after he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of battery constituting domestic violence and coercion.
Kirkeby was Ensign's rural coordinator for 10 years until the Republican senator from Nevada resigned in May amid an ethics investigation after Ensign's extramarital affair with an ex-staffer.
Kirkeby also is a former White Pine County commissioner and among 38 applicants for Minden town manager.
Kirkeby, 47, is accused of grabbing his wife's throat and squeezing while they argued Sunday at their Douglas County home about 35 miles south of Reno.
He and his lawyer, Larry Dunn, did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday.
Kirkeby told sheriff's deputies that his wife tried to use her cellphone to call 911, but he took it from her because he wanted her to listen to him.
Kirkeby also is accused of ripping a cordless phone base from the wall. The kitchen phone was partially hanging on the wall, deputies said, and the cord had been detached.
Deputy District Attorney Karen Dustman said that to her knowledge, the woman did not have to go to the hospital. Dustman declined to discuss details of the case.
Kirkeby was released Monday from the county jail, where he had been held on $5,500 bail. Under terms of his release, he must have no contact with his wife.
Kirkeby is the latest former Ensign aide heading to trial. Doug Hampton's trial could start in May or June in a Washington criminal case alleging he illegally lobbied Ensign.
Hampton faces charges stemming from lobbying he did on behalf of a Las Vegas airline company and an energy company. Hampton became a lobbyist after Ensign had an affair with Hampton's wife. Ensign resigned in May over the scandal.
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"Kirkeby also is accused of ripping a cordless phone base from the wall." This is a crime now? Did the legislature sneak-in another infringement to our freedoms? Guess I better stop composing this email while I steer with my knee so I can try to figure out how to use this hands free device. Am I allowed to read the manual at 65 mph on I-15? Perhaps I should read it while enjoying a lung-full of smoke over dinner at my neighborhood tavern! Nah, it would probably be healthier to drive my Corvair to the park for a friendly game of Lawn Darts!
breaking news Much to your surpruse it is news and a part of the public record.Of course here comes a right wing nit wit who will take any story and convert it to right wing bs. Meanwhile lets concentrate on the 9.6 trillion dollars of debt left by Bush and his lying wars that his generals won't lie about for him once they retire,or the Medicar Part D that in the end made pharmaceutical companies wealthy while screwing Medicare recipients, the people who paid for the program with thier tax deductions. The story is relevant to people who once followed this promise keeper and his band of thugs. Now take your meds and be quiet!
A FORMER aide to Ensign, ancient history... but, any who, has anybody mentioned Dr Desai's daughter was an intern in Harry Reid's office at the time of Desai's arrest?...but in all of this newspaper who=wee, nobody is discussing Harry Reid's change up of procedures on the Senate floor..it's a move right up there with crafting Obamacare with 3 digit million dollar payoffs, arm breaking of hesitant politicians and all behind locked doors for three-plus days. But I digress, let's examine this irrelevant tabloid cr-ap from the non-existent Ensign camp. By the way where is Reid's former chief-of-staff Summers? Is he working for that PR firm as a special interest lobbyist, yet?
At least he defended himself and his actions using proper English.
The phone is always the first victim of domestic violence. Somebody is going to jail if the cops find the phones trashed.
Family values.
What a great defense: ......" I grabbed my wife by the throat because she was talking when she should have been listening"...! If nothing else, is it not a felony to destroy a telephone or telephone lines ?
I am sure glad they support those Republican family and family values. Don't you just love it. Another wolf in sheep skin.
Another member of Ensign's smooth criminal posse. They'll soon be republic-cons.