ABC:
There were whispers about Vitter having an affair with a prostitute around the time he was contemplating a gubernatorial run in 2002, but nothing ever was reported in the mainstream media.
In May 2002, he opted out of that race, announcing that he and Wendy had entered counseling because of the "cumulative stress from working in a high-pressure job, living in two cities, building a house, raising four young kids including a newborn, having our campaign activities based at home and traveling the state considering a run for governor."
But the next year, after Sen. John Breaux, D-La., announced in 2003 that he wouldn't seek re-election, Vitter within days announced he would run to succeed him, and the national GOP did everything it could to clear the way for the man who said he represented "mainstream Louisiana values."
Wapo:
Vitter sought to continue his quick political rise by running for governor in 2003, but he dropped from that race citing family problems. At the time, he denied his decision had anything to do with rumors about his frequenting of Louisiana bordellos. "My wife and I have been in counseling for a few months now," Vitter told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser in May 2002. "Running for governor requires a lot of travel, fund-raising and pressure. We've decided to put family first."
But one year later when Sen. John Breaux (D) decided not to seek reelection in 2004, Vitter quickly jumped into the race. The rumors that had dogged him during his short bid for governor didn't reemerge, and Vitter won easily -- becoming the first Republican to be elected to the Senate from Louisiana since Reconstruction.
Politico
Vitter briefly considered a run for governor but bowed out in May 2002, citing strains on his marriage. He announced that he and his wife had entered counseling.
"This wasn't in response to any dramatic issue or event, but to the cumulative stress from working in a high-pressure job, living in two cities, building a house, raising four young kids including a newborn, having our campaign activities based at home and traveling the state considering running for governor,” Vitter said in the 2002 statement.
A week after the announcement, Vitter was forced to publicly address allegations that he had visited a New Orleans bordello, according to the Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La. He denied the charge, calling it “a rumor and attack campaign” led by enemies to destroy his character and name.
In the run-up to his Senate campaign in 2004, Vitter was confronted again, this time on a talk radio show. And once again he called the allegations, circulated by political opponents, "absolutely and completely untrue."
It's interesting to note that David Vitter's May 2002 announcement that he would not run for Governor occurred just when rumors and allegations about his affairs with prostitutes were being aired. The above reports make it seem as if Vitter was being proactive by announcing that he wouldn't run for Governor; he thereby shrewdly allowed the bubbling rumors to die down, and they never returned with much force during his Senatorial campaign. This characterization of Vitter being "proactive" is reminiscent of the initial reports when Vitter first disclosed his links to the D.C. Madam. Initially, Vitter's short vague confession looked like a preemptive move-- at least until Time and Hustler revealed that their calls had prompted Vitter's statement. Similarly, perhaps Vitter's decision to drop out of the Governor's race in 2002 only appears "preemptive". Was it really a farsighted move for him to drop out, or was that decision prompted by something else? Was there a much more specific and pointed reason that forced Vitter's hand? In short, did Vitty get "hustled" by knowledgable enemies in 2002, as well as 2007?
My memory about the events in 2002 was jogged while reviewing James Gill's T-P column from 7/11, which discusses how Vitter's enemies are enjoying his current discomfort. One of those enemies is Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee:
Lee has been waiting for this moment for years, and has indeed more than once threatened to reveal dark secrets about Vitter, although never following through. Lee pulled back at the last minute, for instance, after threatening to expose Vitter for nameless sins when he first ran for Bob Livingston's old U.S. House seat in 1999.
Didn't Harry Lee also threaten to "reveal dark secrets about Vitter" again in 2002? If memory serves, didn't Lee either schedule or threaten to schedule a press conference in May of 2002, just prior to Vitter's announcement that he would "put family first" and opt out of the Governor's race? Like the calls from Hustler and Time magazine, did Sheriff Lee have something to do with Vitter's decision in 2002? Actual reporting and commentary on this is scant, so please feel free to send any confirmations or refutations about this recollection in the comments or to YRHT contact email.
Assuming Lee did again threaten "to reveal dark secrets" about Vitter in 2002, do you think he would he have done so without having solid evidence? Would he just bluff, and make some cryptic but vague remarks about Vitter's "moral fitness", OR did the Sheriff have "proof" in his backpocket about Vitter's "nameless sins"? Did Lee even know about Vitter's "New Orleans stories", or perhaps did Lee know about a different "Metairie story" that took place under his own jurisdiction? And if Lee did have solid evidence, why did he back down at the last minute in 1999 when Vitter ran against David Treen for U.S. Rep? And why didn't Lee make threats in 2004, when the GOP cleared the way for Vitter's Senatorial campaign?
Vitter is practically daring the press to find "hard evidence" of him whoring in New Orleans. The conventional wisdom is that Sen. Vitter will survive unless some evidence beyond the testimony of hookers is revealed. One wonders: what evidence, if any, is Harry Lee sitting on-- and why?
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Labels: Vitty-cent
