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David Vitter

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David Vitter
United States Senator
from Louisiana
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2005Serving with Mary Landrieu
Preceded byJohn Breaux
Succeeded byIncumbent (2011)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 1st district
In office
May 29, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded byBob Livingston
Succeeded byBobby Jindal
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseWendy Baldwin Vitter
Alma materHarvard University

David Bruce Vitter (born May 3, 1961) is an American Republican politician, currently serving as the junior U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He was formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives, first elected in 1999, to represent the suburban First Congressional District of Louisiana. In July 2007, Vitter was identified as a client of "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey's escort service in Washington, D.C.


"DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO" - Dave Vitter, hypocrite.

D.C. Madam controversy

In early July 2007, Vitter's phone number was included in a published list of phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates, a company owned and run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, also known as the "D.C. Madam", which is accused by the U.S. government of being a prostitution service. Hustler magazine identified the phone number and contacted Vitter's office to ask about his connection to Palfrey. The following day, Vitter issued a written statement:

This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there - with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way.

The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records dating from his days as a member of the House of Representatives. Phone records show that Vitter's number was called by Palfrey's service five times, the first on October 12, 1999, and the last on February 27, 2001. Two calls were placed while House roll call votes were in progress.

As background, several news outlets reported that in May 1999, Vitter replaced Congressman Bob Livingston after Livingston resigned due to an adultery scandal. Vitter said about Livingston's decision to resign, "It's obviously a tremendous loss for the state .... I think Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that Clinton should resign as well and move beyond this mess," referring to the Monica Lewinsky scandal of President Bill Clinton. In 2000, his wife, Wendy Vitter, commenting on the same scandal, said, "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me," referring to the incident of Lorena Bobbitt severing the penis of her husband and to Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton.

On July 10, 2007, Jeanette Maier, the "Canal Street Madam", alleged that Vitter was a customer on more than one occasion in the 1990s, when Maier was identified by federal prosecutors as operating a $300 per hour brothel. The Times-Picayune reported that "Maier offered no evidence or documents to support her claim." Maier said that Vitter "was not a freak. He was not into anything unusual or kinky or weird," and that he favored one prostitute in particular, Wendy Cortez,, the name of the prostitute with whom Vitter had been accused, during his 2004 campaign, of having had a lengthy affair. Vitter denied that allegation during the campaign. On July 12, Cortez told The Times-Picayune that Vitter was "a regular customer" during his time in the state legislature, but that they "did not have a romantic relationship." On September 12, 2007, The Times-Picayune reported that the woman, whose real name was Wendy Ellis, had passed a lie detector exam.

Vitter is unlikely to face criminal charges due to statutes of limitations. Vitter apologized to GOP senate colleagues but avoided the press who repeatedly attempted to talk to him.

On November 13, 2007, the attorney for Palfrey served Vitter with a subpoena to force him to testify at a November 28, 2007 hearing about whether an act of prostitution occurred when with a Palfrey escort. The following week, the judge in the case canceled the hearing. Palfry's attorney indicated he planned to subpoena Vitter to testify at her 2008 criminal trial.

Reaction

Even though Vitter has admitted to having broken the law, the Louisiana state Republican Party offered guarded support, national Republicans offered forgiveness. The liberal magazine, The Nation, predicted that the Republican Party would be in a "forgiving mood" pointing out if Vitter did step down, Democratic Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco would likely appoint a Democrat to take Vitter's place until a special election took place, thus increasing Democratic control over the Senate. Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News agreed, saying that since there is a Democratic governor in Louisiana, "they were afraid if they slapped around Vitter too much, that seat would go Democratic."

Marianne Means, a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers, reported that Republican senators gave Vitter a "loud standing ovation" which she characterized as hypocritical by contrasting this with the Republican attitude toward President Clinton's marital infidelity. The applause came after Vitter privately apologized to his colleagues.

Republican Senator Sam Brownback told Bloomberg Television on October 5, 2007 that Vitter should be censured by the Senate. He said, "I think you could see something like that taking place. If you look at the actual crime itself and the discussion across the country -- and as a Republican -- this is bad."

Vitter was also criticized by the University of New Orleans College Republicans for holding a second press conference about the scandal at the same time that fellow Republican Bobby Jindal formally kicked off his campaign for governor. They called on Vitter to resign after that action, accusing him of putting himself before the good of the party.

In December, 2007, a Baton Rouge The Advocate editorial claimed the Vitter had lost influence due to the controversy. In the same month, Time Magazine listed the controversy as on of the top ten awkward moments of 2007.

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Hustler says it revealed senator's link to escort service". CNN. July 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. Rood, Justin (July 10, 2007). "'Hustler' Call May Have Prompted Vitter Admission". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. Douglass K. Daniel, "Senator's number on escort service list", Associated Press, July 10, 2007
  4. Cite error: The named reference WP-07-10-07 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. Keith I. Marszalek, "Vitter had five calls with D.C. Madam", New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 11, 2007
  6. Charles Babington, "Escort service called lawmaker 5 times", AP News, July 12, 2007
  7. ^ "Senator's Link to 'D.C. Madam' Exposed". The Associated Press. July 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. Cite error: The named reference NYT071107 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. Konigsmark, Anne Rochell (December 20, 1998). "A Week Of Crisis Impeachment: The Speakership Livingston's Constituents Decision to resign jolts home district". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. pp. D4. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. "Canal Street Madam Says Vitter Was Client". WDSU. July 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. Moran, Kate and Carr, Martha (July 10, 2007). "Madam: Vitter a client at Canal Street brothel". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. Moran, Kate (July 10, 2007). "Former madam says Vitter was a client at Canal Street brothel". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. Alpert, Bruce (July 12, 2007). "Legal trouble unlikely for Vitter". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. "Madam links Sen. Vitter to brothel". LA Times. July 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. Burdeau, Cain (July 11, 2007). "Vitter was client of a New Orleans brothel, madam claims". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. Tidmore, Christopher (March 29, 2004). "Congressman Denies Affair With Prostitute". The Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved 2007-07-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. Moran, Kate (July 13, 2007). "Prostitute describes Vitter affair". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. Moran, Kate (September 12, 2007). "Ex-call girl, Flynt keep pressure on Vitter". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. Alpert, Bruce (July 11, 2007). "Vitter unlikely to face criminal charges". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. “Vitter Returns to Senate” Washington Post, July 17, 2007
  21. Walsh, Bill (November 14, 2007). "Senator receives subpoena to testify about escort use". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-11-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. Shields, Gerald (November 15, 2007). "Attorney doesn't answer queries on Vitter plans". The Advocate (Baton Rouge). Retrieved 2007-11-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. "Senator Spared Testimony in Escort Case". The Associated Press. November 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. Alpert, Bruce and Walsh, Bill (December 2, 2007). "Vitter avoids talking about escort for now". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-12-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. Walsh, Bill (July 13, 2007). "Louisiana Republicans offer guarded support for Vitter". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. Radelat, Ana (July 19, 2007). "Vitter tries to move forward". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. Nichols, John (July 17, 2007). "A "Family Values" Headache for Senate GOP". The Nation. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. Lipman, Larry (September 30, 2007). "A year later, Foley fallout lingers". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2007-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. Blumner, Robyn (September 30, 2007). "Republicans and their big Greenspan gap". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. Kuraitis, Jill (October 7, 2007). "Novak: Senate R's Knew Craig "Had This Problem"". New West. Retrieved 2007-10-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. Means, Marianne (July 23, 2007). "Republicans celebrate hypocrisy". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved 2007-07-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. Cite error: The named reference TP092907 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. Goldman, Julianna (October 5, 2007). "Craig Faces U.S. Senate Censure, Not Expulsion, Brownback Says". Bloomberg Television. Retrieved 2007-10-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. "College Republicans Demand Vitter Resignation". UNO College Republicans.
  35. "Our Views: Delegation suffers loss". The Advocate. December 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. Salamme, Elisabeth (December, 2007). "Top 10 Awkward Moments". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Preceded byBob Livingston Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 1st congressional district
1999 – 2005 		Succeeded byBobby Jindal
Preceded byJohn Breaux U.S. senator (Class 3) from Louisiana
2005–present
Served alongside: Mary Landrieu 		Incumbent
United States senators from Louisiana
Class 2 United States Senate
Class 3
Louisiana's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Representatives
(ordered by district)
Current United States senators
President: ▌ Kamala Harris (D) ‧ President pro tempore: ▌ Chuck Grassley (R)

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