By Kathleen Hunter, Congressional Quarterly Today, May 9, 2008

9 May 2008 // The Senate Ethics Committee has closed its probe of Sen. David Vitter's ties to a Washington prostitution ring.

A watchdog group had filed a complaint alleging that Vitter's actions violated rules requiring conduct that reflects well upon the Senate.

The committee, chaired by Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., dismissed the complaint Thursday, but in a letter to Vitter, R-La., panel members said the case could be reopened "should new allegations or evidence" surface.

In July 2007, Vitter acknowledged that his telephone number appeared in the records for Pamela Martin and Associates, a now-defunct escort service that catered to an upscale Washington clientele. Vitter indicated that he had contacted the escort service before his 2004 Senate campaign.

Days later, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) requested that the Ethics Committee look into the matter.

The committee said it had opted not to launch a probe because Vitter's conduct occurred while he was a member of the House, not the Senate; because Vitter was never charged with a crime; and because Vitter's behavior "did not involve use of public status or office for improper purposes."

"Based on these specific grounds, the committee has determined that it should not further exercise its jurisdiction over this matter at this time," the letter stated.

The committee stressed that the decision to dismiss the complaint did not amount to "approbation or acceptance" of Vitter's alleged conduct.

Vitter's office did not respond to requests for comment.

Naomi Seligman, deputy director of CREW, said in a statement that Vitter had not been held accountable for his actions.

"He walks away without even a slap on the wrist," she said.

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.

Although he was named as a possible defense witness in the April trial of alleged "D.C. madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who ran Pamela Martin and Associates, Vitter was never asked to take the stand.

Palfrey was convicted April 15 on federal racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering changes, and committed suicide about two weeks later. She was to be sentenced July 24.