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WASHINGTON -- Dividing along partisan lines, the Federal Election Commission couldn't agree Thursday on whether Sen. David Vitter, R-La., can use campaign money to pay all the legal costs related to his involvement in a Washington escort service scandal. In a 3-3 vote, with all three Republicans voting yes and all three Democrats no, the commission deadlocked on whether Vitter could use campaign money to pay more than $160,000 in legal fees accrued in monitoring the federal criminal case against Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam, " and quashing her defense team's subpoenas of the senator. A majority vote...

www.gunowners.org/a051308.htmMay 2008 Senator Vitter To Offer Concealed Carry Reciprocity Amendment -- Action needed right away! Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102 Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585 Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has filed a pro-gun amendment to HR 980, and it could be voted on as early as tomorrow! This amendment would protect the right of citizens to carry concealed weapons (outside of their home state) in states that allow concealed carry. Sen. Vitter explains that his amendment does not violate the rights of states as it "does NOT establish national standards for concealed carry,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Ethics Committee on Thursday dismissed a complaint against Sen. David Vitter, a suspected patron of a prostitution ring headed by a woman who killed herself last month. In a letter to the Louisiana Republican, the panel said the conduct at issue allegedly occurred before his Senate candidacy and time in office. In addition, it did not result in his being charged criminally, the committee said. As a result, the panel said it did not have jurisdiction, dismissing "without prejudice" the complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a private watchdog...

Embattled Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R) is getting support from fellow Republicans who say he should not resign over a public sex scandal — including from someone who can speak from experience. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was among several GOP senators who say Vitter’s testimony in the “D.C. Madam” prostitution case should not compel his resignation. “First and foremost, in these kinds of issues, it’s the state and the relationship you have with your state that really determines where you ought to go,” Craig said. “That was certainly my case. The Senate itself wasn’t going to judge me. I...

While most political observers are focused on the protracted Democratic primary fight between the senator from the state of New York and the senator from the state of Hope, rumors have been swirling in conservative circles that two of the movement’s most prominent leaders are considering Senate bids in 2010. Former Louisiana state Rep. Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, and former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), president of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, are both rumored to be considering leaving their positions to run for the U.S. Senate — an office both have unsuccessfully...

Louisiana Sen. David Vitter may be called to testify on behalf of a woman accused of running an upscale Washington prostitution service, attorneys said Monday at the opening of trial. The Republican senator was among several possible witnesses identified Monday in the racketeering and money laundering case against Deborah Palfrey. Among others on the list is Harlan Ullman, a military strategist who created the concept of "shock and awe" that the United States used to open hostilities against Iraq more than five years ago. Prosecutors said they planned to call about a dozen former escorts and several clients. Vitter, a...

The confirmation of US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan as head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was thrown into further doubt yesterday, when a Republican senator who is blocking the nomination renewed complaints that Sullivan has refused to loosen licensing rules for guns. The development means that the future leadership of the US attorney's office in Boston will remain cloudy for the foreseeable future, because the Bush administration has been unable to nominate a replacement. For now, Sullivan is performing both roles while his nomination is caught in a crossfire over gun policy. Senator David Vitter of...

Blanco asked to battle Vitter By PATRICK COURREGES Advocate Acadiana bureau Published: Feb 2, 2008 LAFAYETTE — Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco said this week, among the many things on her post-governorship schedule, she’s been fielding phone calls from people asking her about a 2010 run for the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La. Blanco, a Democrat, chose not to run for a second term for governor in 2007 and turned over the reins of state government to Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal in January. She said that she’s been enjoying herself in the weeks since Jindal took...

A U.S. senator says immigration authorities should be on hand to arrest illegal aliens who show up to get the controversial Matricula Consular cards issued by the Mexican government. Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to place agents this weekend outside a municipal building in Lafayette, La., where Mexican consular officials had planned to issue the cards, which can be obtained by any Mexican living outside Mexico. Critics say the cards are a magnet for illegal aliens because they convey the trappings of legal status. "The Mexican government makes it perfectly clear in advertising this that...

We are conservatives who are proud to support Rudy Giuliani for president. We support Rudy because he is a strong leader -- a man of action and a man of his word. And a big part of that is his proven effectiveness -- his record of actually changing things for the better in concrete, measurable ways. A perfect example of his leadership and proven effectiveness is Rudy's record on adoption. Rudy Giuliani dramatically increased the number of adoptions in the New York City system as mayor. Adoptions skyrocketed 133% over his eight year tenure compared to the eight years before...

WASHINGTON -- Rekindling a scandal Sen. David Vitter hoped had faded, the attorney for the "D.C. Madam" asked Friday for a subpoena to force the Louisiana Republican to testify about his involvement in what prosecutors say was a high-priced prostitution ring. Montgomery Sibley said he had asked the clerk of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to issue a subpoena to Vitter to testify at a Nov. 28 hearing that could spill salacious details of the scandal that has captivated the nation's capital for more than a year.

The media have been pummeling conservative Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana for apologizing for sexual indiscretions. But America should be grateful he stayed in the Senate and did not resign in the wake of the media assault. The senator demonstrated on Thursday, during a hearing into the U.N.’s Law of the Sea Treaty, that he is going to continue to do the job he was elected to do. Vitter’s performance was so effective that he left State and Defense Department officials either speechless or caught up in embarrassing contradictions about the impact of this international agreement on America’s security...

A former New Orleans prostitute who will be featured in Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine appeared at his office Tuesday to accuse Sen. David Vitter of having a sexual relationship with her in 1999. Wendy Ellis told reporters that Vitter visited her two to three times a week for sexual relations between July and November 1999.

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt took a fresh jab on Tuesday at scandal-plagued Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), administering a lie detector test to a New Orleans prostitute who contends that she and Vitter had a relationship in 1999. Vitter has denied extramarital relations with Wendy Cortez, who appeared with Flynt in Los Angeles to address reporters. Flynt said the lie detector offers 99.9 percent proof that Cortez, whose ties to Vitter have long set tongues wagging in Louisiana, is telling the truth. “I don’t want him to apologize to me. I want him to apologize to everybody that he’s lied to,”...

Weeks after U.S. Sen. David Vitter tried to discredit her allegations, a woman who used to work as a prostitute in New Orleans passed a lie detector test averring that she had a "sexual relationship" with Vitter that lasted at least four months. Magazine publisher Larry Flynt paid for the woman to take the polygraph test, and he plans to hold a news conference with her at his Beverly Hills office today to unveil the results and challenge the senator to submit to a polygraph. The woman, Wendy Yow Ellis, claims that she had intercourse with Vitter in a French...

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Pro-gun Senator David Vitter (R-LA) is getting ready to introduce a bill that would block the United Nations from implementing gun control measures affecting U.S. citizens. Entitled the "UN Second Amendment Protection Act of 2005," the bill does still not have a number, as Sen. Vitter is trying to get original cosponsors to join him. Gun owners across America are increasingly victorious in legislative and elective battles at the local, state and national levels. Nevertheless, anti-gun internationalists, long burrowed in the UN headquarters, are planning, with some success, massive international gun control measures. This entire week, the UN is holding...

Thank you all for being here today, for your friendship and support, for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Governor for 11 years, for filling my life full of blessings beyond anything I ever deserved... ...I was raised to believe in the American dream, in family values, in individual responsibility...

Filling in on July 17 for Keith Olbermann, MSNBC's Alison Stewart devoted a "Countdown" segment to criticizing the dress Wendy Vitter wore during a July 16 news conference in which her husband, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), admitted to an affair with a prostitute. With "Fashion Ho-Pas?" emblazoned on-screen (pictured at right), Stewart interviewed Radar Online's Jeff Bercovici, who snarked that Vitter's sartorial choice could mark "a complete reversal of the laws of skankery." [Video (1:37): Real (2.54 MB) and Windows (2.90MB), plus MP3 audio (753 kB)] Olbermann returned to his program's hosting duties the next day and also hosted the July 19 program before turning over the...

John Kerry has decided to broaden his public appeal by branching into humor -- deliberately, as it turns out, rather than just being a joke as in 2004. He delivered his highbrow brand of humor at a DSCC fundraiser last weekend, but the Hill just got around to reporting it on Friday. His joke came at the expense of his colleague, David Vitter, and his woes from the connection to a criminal case of prostitution (via The Moderate Voice): Speaking at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fundraiser last weekend, Kerry recited a five-line poem about Sen. David Vitter (R-La.),...

WASHINGTON - The first victim of Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt's most recent crusade, Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, stepped forward last week, admitting that he had used a Washington prostitution service. The sudden announcement, which was clearly rushed out to beat Flynt to the punch, portrayed the ordeal as old news. Nothing more than past actions he regretted, a mistake allegedly long since forgotten by both him and his wife. But as the senator tried to control the news cycle, the blogosphere dug up Vitter quotes about "family values" and "strong marriages," and Flynt reigned over the airwaves,...

Jay Leno and David Letterman never run out of material when they are making fun of politicians, especially when it involves sex and hypocrisy. After years of beating up on Bill Clinton for his sexual indiscretions, the late-night comedians are spending equal time chortling about Republicans who have been caught with their pants down. Their latest target is Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. Vitter is an easy target for those looking to play "pin the hypocrite tail on the elephant." He's a lector in his local Catholic Church and he has been associated with the Family Research Council, the...

WASHINGTON — State Democrats on Friday launched a petition drive that they hope will force U.S. Sen. David Vitter to resign. The Louisiana Democratic Party posted the petition on its Web site, http://www.lademo.org. The purpose behind the effort is to collectively gather names of voters “who are intolerant of Vitter’s hypocritical behavior and irresponsible behavior in the U.S. Senate,” Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington said in a statement. On Monday, Vitter, R-La., apologized for his phone number appearing on the list of a Washington escort service operated by a woman dubbed the “D.C. madam.” Vitter called it a “serious...

Louisiana Democrat Party Chairman has started a petition calling for the resignation of Senator David Vitter. I responded in kind, with a petition calling on Chairman Whittington to stop his hypocrisy and also call for the resignation of William Jefferson http://louisianaconservative.com/?p=206

Washington was rocked -- ROCKED -- this week when it was revealed that Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, is a practicing heterosexual. The news came as part of a larger bombshell, as Vitter’s name was revealed to be on the client list of the so-called “D.C. Madam” (who is apparently not Nancy Pelosi, by the way, but a physical prostitute.) Vitter, obviously unfamiliar with how to react when one’s sexual identity is made public, immediately apologized and foolishly focused on the paying-for-sex aspect of the whole affair. He also used the word “sin,” which at the time that this...

I have just concluded a 60 minute interview with ABCNews.com's Jake Tapper, which concluded with Jake promising me that "it is my intention to put up as much of this as possible," which means the public will have available to it a quite spirited discussion of MSM and its ethics, as well as David Vitter's troubles, old journalism's biases, and Mitt Romney and my book. Jake grew quite testy when I pointed out to him that the pitch e-mail I had received had not alerted me that I'd be discussing anything other than my book. Here's the e-mail, with the...

“Republicans are more fun because they get caught so easily,” Flynt said. “They’ve been living a repressed life all their life. Democrats are liberal — they wear it on their sleeve. Their sex life is what it is. They don’t spend their whole life trying to cover it up.” Flynt released the particular wireless phone bill containing Vitter’s phone number on Palfrey’s calling list, confirming that the Louisianan contacted

Liz says... Everybody forgave Bill Clinton, why not David Vitter. He at least told the truth, Clinton did not Anonymous says... I think Vitter's biggest mistake was...He got caught. I'll still vote for him. Anonymous says... If Vitter had ran just a regular campaign and not run to all of the preachers to help him run on a platform of him being this great "family man" this would be no big deal. This is not my idea of a husband, father or the moral platform he ran on. He should have done like Edwin Edwards and said he loved all...

Fri Jul 13, 12:14 AM ET WASHINGTON - A woman accused of running a Washington prostitution ring placed five phone calls to David Vitter while he was a House member, including two while roll call votes were under way, according to telephone and congressional records. Vitter, a Louisiana Republican now in the Senate, acknowledged Monday that his number was on the woman's call list and apologized for a "very serious sin." The married father of four has remained in seclusion since, missing Senate votes and other activities Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Telephone records released by Deborah Jeane Palfrey indicate she...

U.S. Senator David Vitter's actions and his own campaign words are coming back to haunt the Louisiana Republican after his phone number was linked to a Washington, D.C., escort service. Michael McHale is the chairman of the Calcasieu Parish Democratic Party. McHale says, "I think the hypocrisy is really considerable. Here's a fellow who ran as a family values republican. This flies in the face of any family values I know of." But for John Hoffpauir, chairman of the Calcasieu Parish Republican Party, Vitter's admission of a past indiscretion is old news. Hoffpauir says, "This is not something David has...

Louisiana Senator Faces More Brothel Claims (CBS News) NEW ORLEANS New allegations tie Sen. David Vitter to a high-priced brothel in his hometown, one day after he publicly apologized for his connection to an alleged prostitution ring in Washington, D.C. On Monday, Vitter acknowledged being involved with the so-called D.C. Madam, hours after Hustler magazine told him his telephone number was among those she disclosed. A day later, new revelations linked him to a former madam in New Orleans and old allegations that he frequented a former prostitute resurfaced, further clouding his political future. Jeanette Maier on Tuesday said Vitter...

As Jonathan Martin points out, there's a pattern emerging of top Giuliani supporters leaving the campaign, whether for better gigs or because of scandal. Today, we learn that Sen. David Vitter (La.) is one of the names on the so-called D.C. Madam's client list. Vitter was the first senator to endorse Giuliani and serves as his Southern Regional campaign chair. Back in March, National Journal's Hotline expressed the sentiment of many: "Let's give Giuliani his due: having Vitter will help whip support among Southern conservatives, and qualifies, to us at least, as a major and important endorsement." Indeed, a nod...

NEW ORLEANS — Sen. David Vitter, who publicly apologized after being linked to an alleged prostitution ring in Washington, D.C., was once a client of a high-priced New Orleans brothel, a former madam said Tuesday. Saying he was a "decent man" who appeared to be in need of company when he visited the brothel, Jeanette Maier added unexpected details to a scandal enveloping the first-term Republican... ...Maier pleaded guilty to running the Canal Street brothel in 2002. Vitter won his seat in the U.S Senate in 2004.

WASHINGTON -- Larry Flynt is claiming credit for outing Sen. David Vitter's connection to the so-called D.C. Madam. The Hustler magazine publisher said his staff called Vitter's office Monday, saying they knew his telephone number appeared on a list from Deborah Jeane Palfrey's escort service. "Vitter ran to the Associated Press in an attempt to get ahead of the story," Flynt's office said. In a statement released late Monday night, Vitter said he "received forgiveness from God" and his wife several years ago. Vitter, whose telephone number was disclosed by Palfrey, said he is sorry for a "serious sin" and...

<p>Republican Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, whose phone number was linked to Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam," says that he is sorry for a "serious sin" and that he has already made peace with his wife.</p> <p>Palfrey is awaiting trial on racketeering charges related to a prostitution ring she allegedly ran.</p>

A California woman who is the target in an ongoing criminal probe into the operation of her District-based escort agency has told federal authorities she will "make life miserable" for former customers and employees unless her case is dropped, government attorneys say. "I cannot emphasize to you the terrible and quite unnecessary ramifications this case (civil and/or criminal) will set off, if permitted to advance for both sides," Deborah Jean Palfrey wrote in an e-mail to the U.S. Attorney's Office. "The press will have a field day at each of our expense" ~~~~snip~~~~

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Friday that a former escort service owner cannot sell phone records and other company records, saving about 15,000 clients from possible public embarrassment. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 50, has said she planned to sell the list to a news organization to help raise money for her defense. The alleged "D.C. Madam" ran Pamela Martin and Associates, an upscale escort service in the Washington area, for 13 years before it closed in August. Federal prosecutors say it was a prostitution ring that yielded $2 million in assets, including cash and homes. In October, the federal...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge ruled Friday that a former escort service owner cannot sell phone records and other documents that could be used to publicly identify thousands of her clients. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 50, has said she planned to sell the list of up to 15,000 client phone numbers and other records to a news organization to help raise money for her defense. The alleged "D.C. Madam" ran Pamela Martin and Associates, an upscale escort service in the Washington area, for 13 years before it closed in August. Palfrey's civil attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, said Friday he does...

WASHINGTON, April 28 — Deborah Jeane Palfrey has not been at all shy about it: for more than a decade she ran an escort service that catered to upscale clients in the nation’s capital, sending college-educated women to men’s homes or hotel rooms. For about $300, she promised 90 minutes of what she has described as a discreet “legal high-end erotic fantasy service.” But the discreet part is over, after federal authorities charged her with operating a prostitution ring. “The tentacles of this matter reach far, wide and high into the echelons of power in the United States,” Ms. Palfrey...

(CNSNews.com) - A Republican senator has been caught in the "D.C. madam" snare. Sen. David Vitter's telephone number was listed in the records kept by Deborah Jeane Palfrey - the woman accused of running a prostitution ring. Palfrey insists it was a legitimate escort service. On Monday, she posted her clients' telephone numbers - but no names -- online. "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in a statement released to the Associated Press on Monday. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and...

Senator's Number on Escort Service List Tuesday, July 10, 2007 WASHINGTON - Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, whose telephone number was disclosed by the so-called "D.C. Madam" accused of running a prostitution ring, says he is sorry for a "serious sin" and that he has already made peace with his wife. "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said Monday in a printed 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...

WASHINGTON — Louisiana Sen. David Vitter apologized Monday for his telephone number showing up on the old phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates, the alleged prostitution ring run in the nation's capital by Deborah Jeane Palfrey. "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in a 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...

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) acknowledged Monday night that his number appears on telephone records of the alleged D.C. Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, and issued an apology. “This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible,” Vitter said in a statement issued by his office. “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling,'' he added. "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...

Senator's Number on Escort Service List WASHINGTON (AP) - 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." Vitter's spokesman, Joel Digrado, confirmed the statement in an e-mail sent to The Associated Press. "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...

The immigration-reform bill was supposed to be a defining moment for the old guard. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy could establish a new civil rights legacy to rival his brothers'; Sen. John McCain could show leadership and accomplishment by standing up to his party's base; and President Bush could secure a major domestic achievement for his second term. Instead, the young guns — a small, wily group of junior Republican senators, most of them with less than a full term in the upper chamber — sent the bill into a tailspin, tying Democratic leaders into legislative knots and earning enough opposition...

As South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint stood in the well of the Senate on Wednesday morning, he uttered the now famous line: “Our phones have been ringing off the hooks, e-mails, letters. People are trying to get in touch with us. Even now they’re calling in such numbers that it’s crashed the telephone system here in the Senate. My question to the Senate today is: What part of “no” don’t we understand?” Outraged Americans were calling by the thousands, emails were pouring in from all corners of the country and to any and every address that ended in “.gov.” Meanwhile...

The immigration-reform bill was supposed to be a defining moment for the old guard. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy could establish a new civil rights legacy to rival his brothers'; Sen. John McCain could show leadership and accomplishment by standing up to his party's base; and President Bush could secure a major domestic achievement for his second term. Instead, the young guns — a small, wily group of junior Republican senators, most of them with less than a full term in the upper chamber — sent the bill into a tailspin, tying Democratic leaders into legislative knots and earning enough opposition...

The immigration-reform bill was supposed to be a defining moment for the old guard. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy could establish a new civil rights legacy to rival his brothers'; Sen. John McCain could show leadership and accomplishment by standing up to his party's base; and President Bush could secure a major domestic achievement for his second term. Instead, the young guns — a small, wily group of junior Republican senators, most of them with less than a full term in the upper chamber — sent the bill into a tailspin, tying Democratic leaders into legislative knots and earning enough opposition...

June 28, 2007 - (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter today issued the following statement regarding the defeat of the immigration bill. “This is an incredible victory for the American people. The Kennedy immigration bill was flawed and granted amnesty to millions of illegals. “For a while, a small group of us were the only senators advocating the position of the majority of Americans. I am thankful that the continued calls and persistent engagement of the American people on this issue paid off. “The next step is to immediately push the president to take up his word and enforce...

WASHINGTON -- Bucking President Bush and Senate Republican leaders, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has emerged as one of the most impassioned opponents of immigration legislation being debated on Capitol Hill. Decrying the plan as an "amnesty," Vitter has been a leader in the campaign to disrupt the fragile compromise that supporters say is designed to stop the influx of illegal immigrants while laying a pathway for an estimated 12 million undocumented workers to achieve legal status. With a relatively small Hispanic population, immigration is not nearly the hot-button issue in Louisiana that it is in California, Texas or Florida. And...