Vitter Avoids Testifying in Prostitution Trial

15 Apr 2008 // Sen. David Vitter has been spared having to testify in open court about his connections to a woman accused of running an upscale prostitution ring.

Vitter, R-La., had been named as a possible defense witness in the trial of alleged "D.C. madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey. But jurors began deliberations Monday without the defense calling a single witness in the case.

"He has to be breathing a huge sigh of relief," said Kirby Goidel, a political science professor at Louisiana State University.

Attorney Preston Burton, who represents Palfrey, would not comment on why Vitter was not asked to take the stand.

Palfrey formerly ran an escort service called Pamela Martin and Associates. Her indictment last year caused a frenzy of speculation about who might be among the service's high-profile clients.

In July, Vitter acknowledged that his number appears in the escort service's phone records and indicated that he had contacted Pamela Martin and Associates before his 2004 Senate campaign.

Had he been forced to take the stand, Vitter, who has repeatedly refused to comment on the matter, would have faced politically unappealing choices: Detail his involvement with the escort service or invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination.

Vitter, who served in the House from 1999 to 2005, has offered no details about his interactions with the escort service other than to say he had committed a "serious sin," for which he was "completely responsible."

Vitter said he had asked God and his wife for forgiveness and had attended marriage counseling.
Ethics Situation Unclear

Because any contact between Vitter and the escort service happened before he become a senator, it is unclear whether the Senate Ethics Committee would have jurisdiction to judge his actions.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said she would like to see disciplinary action. "But I'm not holding my breath," she said.

Sloan's organization has been at the forefront of calls for ethics panel action.

Palfrey, who faces charges of money laundering and racketeering, has said she was running "a legal, high-end erotic fantasy service." Her lawyer argued that the government had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Palfrey knew the women who worked for her were charging clients for sex.

About a dozen former escorts and three former clients of Palfrey's service testified during the trial.