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David Vitter
Republican, Louisiana (1999-present)
Update: March 13, 2009: Vitter reportedly went ballistic at Dulles International Airport. He got to the gate late, the door was already closed, and he tried opening it. Off go the alarms (apparently a Class 1 misdemeanor for unauthorized person to enter a restricted area). An airport employee warned him he can't go in, and Vitter gave him an earful of don't-you-know-who-I-am. Vitter then left in a huff, and later dismissed the whole incident as "silly gossip column" stuff.
If all this is true, he joins the Honorable Bob Filner in the Airport Rage Caucus.
Touting good, conservative Louisiana virtues, David Vitter in 1999 proclaimed that folks in the Bayou State needed a "U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values." He also condemned Bill Clinton for his extramarital affairs.
But all was not well for Vitter. He'd been accused of having an 11-month affair with a French Quarter prostitute. Vitter said that was nothing more than "crass politics" of his opponents.
David Vitter is the newest member of the Sexual Hijinks Caucus, check out his caucus mates.
But Mrs. Vitter was not amused. She told the Newhouse News Service in 2000 that if her husband cheated on her, she won't act like Hillary Clinton and turn the other cheek, she would act like Lorena Bobbitt who famously whacked off her husband's penis. Wendy Vitter: "If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me. I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage." For comments of other wives on their cheating husbands, click here.
For most of 2007, prominent Washington politicians, lobbyists and other high-profilers have been holding their collective breath. Jean Palfrey, the alleged D.C. Madam, has threatened to expose the names on her lengthy client list.
On Monday, July 9, 2007, Vitter admitted that his telephone number was on D.C. Madam's list. This was before he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 (but while he was a Congressman). He wouldn't say whether he used the escort service, but referred to his name on the list as a "very serious sin in my past." In his statement, Vitter said he had "asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling."
The D.C. Madam's list has already claimed the careers of Randall L. Tobias, deputy secretary of state, who resigned earlier in 2007 and Harlan Ullman, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Update, July 17: After a week in seclusion, Vitter reappeared, and said he was getting back to work. Vitter once again apologized profusely: "I am completely responsible. And I am so very, very sorry." A brothel owner in New Orleans charged that Vitter had been a long-time customer, but the honorable Senator hotly denied the charges.
Update: November 21: Whew, saved by the Judge! U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler cancelled an appearance by Vitter in the D.C. Madam case, saying that his appearance served no purpose in the criminal case. Deborah Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madame, is accused of running a prostitution ring. Her lawyer subpoenaed Vitter to testify. But the Judge, after seeing his name on the list of witnesses, said no deal.
Update, April 8, 2008: The DC Madam case will come up soon, and the Honorable Mr. Vitter is on her list as a potential witness. But Vitter really doesn't want to talk about this. While trying to avoid the press in Gonzales, Louisiana, Vitter's car ran into a No Parking sign, then sped off. No one was injured.
Stay tuned.
Sources: Dana Milbank, "In Whole or in Part, a Missing Vitter," Washington Post, July 11, 2007, A2; Sue Anne Pressley Montes, "'More Names Will Come Out,' Lawyer in D.C. Escort Case Vows," Washington Post, July 11, 2007, A2. Tim Grieve and Daniel Libit, "Sen. Vitter's No Good, Very Bad Day," Politico, April 8, 2008, 4. Emily Heil and Elizabeth Brotherton, "Vitter Goes from Hookergate to Gate-Crashing," Roll Call, March 11, 2009.
