[Post has been updated. See below.]
From the Times Picayune's front page:
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., apologized Monday night for "a very serious sin in my past" after his telephone number appeared among those associated with an escort service operated by the so-called "D.C. Madam."
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"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in the statement. "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."
You didn't let me down, Vitty-cent. I always knew you were a freak. However, you got some more explaining to do about your "sin" (singular). Are you saying there's only one? Do you deny that you are on the Canal Street Madam's list? And are the reports about you and Wendy Cortez (which you rejected) actually true? Did you lie to us about that? YRHT published those reports because YRHT had independent, triple-sourced confirmation about those allegations. I didn't do it for titillation purposes or to spread trash. (I just pray that Wendy Cortez isn't an illegal immigrant... that would undercut Vitty's status as immigration hero in a most unwelcome way.)
Perhaps even Kos' charge that Vitter fathered a child outside of marriage deserves renewed investigation. (I had never heard that before, but everything seems possible now.)
Senator Vitter encourages Louisianans to report corruption here. A while back, I asked folks to report the D.C. Madam scandal here.
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At least you got your wife to forgive you, rather than lopping off "lil Vitty".
Asked by an interviewer in 2000 whether she could forgive her husband if she learned he'd had an extramarital affair, as Hillary Clinton and Bob Livingston's wife had done, Wendy Vitter told the Times-Picayune: "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."
If we learned one thing from all those intrepid conservatives who skewered Clinton for his bj, it's that when a politician lies about sexual recklessness, that pol opens himself to blackmail. And that's dangerous. Senator Vitter owes it to Louisiana to come clean about all his "sins", before he hurts the state further when an investigative reporter (like Richard Angelico) gets Wendy Cortez to talk, or when the Canal Street Madam reveals her client list.
A sampling of some previous YRHT posts on Vitty-Cent's alleged "sins" here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
And speaking of stuff that is yet to come out, there's a library of nastiness that has yet to be revealed about Giuliani, Vitty's choice for President.
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Update: Think Progress has a classic Vitter quote.
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Update 2: Chris Tidmore (YRHT endorsed candidate for State Rep) feels vindicated. Last night Tidmore said:
Mr. Vitter has used his considerable power to attempt to silence those who knew the truth. Those who attempted to expose hypocrisy and corruption early on were met with threats and disdain. It is time for real leadership to stop this culture of corruption, incompetence and hypocrisy from plaguing our political system. Mr. Vitter’s actions have harmed Louisiana at a time when we could not afford any further loss of influence in Washington.
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Update #3: Currently, on the list of Vitter links at The Dead Pelican, the DP writes "Kos weights in..." and links to the story from 2004 to which I linked. [Shortly afterwards, the DP removed the link.]
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Update #4: Maybe Vitter's admission wasn't so shrewdly "pre-emptive" after all. ABC reports that "Yesterday afternoon, a Hustler editor contacted Vitter's office to ask his connection to Palfrey's service. Soon after, Vitter's office released its statement." Nice one, Flynt!
Here's an important question: did Vitter commit a crime? Does he expect to get amnesty? Apologizing and seeking forgiveness is all well and good, but mustn't we UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW, especially when we're talking about crimes that damage the "most fundamental social institution in human history"?
Here are some thoughts from Balloon Juice with which I agree:
[B]eing illegal nearly everywhere and certainly in DC, paying for sex should ding the credibility of anybody whose job it is to write laws. I think in general that it’s silly to criminalize prostitution, but as long as legislators see fit to ban it for the rest of us they have a certain responsibility to respect the ban themselves.
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Update #5: ABC26 News interviews Jeff Crouere about the story, and Crouere notes that Vitter's number might appear multiple times in the D.C. Madam's phone records, and says that the Canal Street Madam, Jeanette Maier, has said she will release her own customer records in the next few months.
Also, in a surprisingly lucid and excellent column, Bayou Buzz's Steve Sabludowsky writes:
So, what was the sin?
Louisiana voters have a right to know. So does a court who is prosecuting ["D.C. Madam"] Palfrey.
If Deborah Jeane Palfrey is being prosecuted for racketeering, then, shouldn’t Vitter implicated as an enabler? What is good for the gander, is good for the goose.
It takes two to racket.
It is also a racket that the woman gets legally swatted but not the John, or the David.
Louisiana has a right to know more about its junior Louisiana US Senator. Women and men, Republicans and Democrats should be outraged and want to know if their US Senator has broken the law, just as we were outraged when we suspected William “Bill” Jefferson of wrongdoing and still do ever since his indictment.
This issue is not between David Vitter, his maker and his family as he says. If a law has been broken, he should be prosecuted just like Palfrey. That is what we demanded from Bill Jefferson. That is what I urged once I realized that Bill Clinton lied under oath. That is what Senator Vitter deserves if he broke the law.
Labels: Vitty-cent
