July 16, 2007
Vitter Won't Explain D.C. Madam Link
Louisiana Republican David Vitter went before the cameras one week after admitting he committed a "very serious sin" related to a Washington escort service. But he did not come with hat in hand.
"I'm not going to answer numerous questions about it again and again and again," Vitter said with a note of indignation.
Vitter did not explain why his phone number turned up in the records of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madam, only referring to his "past failings." Vitter also denied long-circulating rumors that he solicited prostitutes in the late 1990s as a state representative based in New Orleans.
Attributing those reports to "longtime political enemies and those hoping to profit from my situation," Vitter said, "Those stories are not true.
Vitter said addressing any of the prostitution allegations would "serve newspapers" but not his constituents or family. Speaking at a press conference in New Orleans to give his first public statement since going into seclusion last week, Vitter said, "From here I'll go directly to the airport and to Washington for votes, because I'm eager to continue my work in the U.S. Senate."
Vitter said he planned to tackle a water resources bill for New Orleans as well as immigration reform. The freshman senator, who is up for re-election in 2010, missed several controversial votes related to the Iraq war last week.
Standing alongside Vitter was his wife Wendy, who later took the mic and scolded the media for staking out her family.
"To those of you who know me, are you surprised that I have something to say?" Wendy Vitter said, not exactly smiling. A retort she once gave on marital infidelity during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, in which she likened herself to Lorena Bobbitt, has become infamous since the scandal broke.
"David is my best friend. I stand before you to tell you very proudly I'm proud to be Wendy Vitter," she said.
"Not to say this last week wasn't incredibly trying and very sad," she added. "Not for our marriage. Our marriage is stronger every day."
Wendy Vitter then turned the topic to the intense media coverage that will likely follow her husband to Washington. "Now let me speak to you as a mother. And I hope you will understand, it's been terribly hard to have the media parked on our front lawn and following us every day," she said, noting that reporters followed the family to church yesterday. She and the couple's four young children are staying in Louisiana, she said before asking the media to "let us continue our summer and our lives as we have planned."
Wendy Vitter also briefly touched on the allegations surrounding her husband, but insisted they were a non-starter. "I forgave him," she said. "To forgive is not always the easy choice, but it was and is for me."
The couple did not take questions from reporters.
Posted at 6:54 PM
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Congress, Crime, D.C. Madam, David Vitter, Prostitution, Senate
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