September 12, 2007

Vitter's Dirty Laundry Airs... Again

Maybe it was his appearance during yesterday's high-profile hearings on Capitol Hill, but all of the sudden Sen. David Vitter's personal woes are back in the spotlight after his initial implication in the D.C. Madam scandal all but faded from the collective Beltway memory.

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt called a press conference yesterday to once again accuse the Louisiana Republican of paying for sex with a New Orleans prostitute in 1999. The former call girl at the center of those allegations, Wendy Ellis, appeared with Flynt at yesterday's briefing.

At the time of their alleged trysts, Ellis went by the name "Leah." She told reporters that Vitter ended their business arrangement when she proposed taking the relationship to a more personal level. "I said, 'My real name is Wendy,' and he said, 'Oh my God.' That was the last time I saw him through the escort service." Vitter's wife's name is also Wendy.

Flynt did not produce any evidence beyond Ellis' testimony. Earlier this summer, when Vitter admitted to patronizing Deborah Jeanne Palfrey's escort service, he denied the Louisiana-based allegations. "My admission has encouraged longtime political enemies and those hoping to profit from the situation to spread falsehoods, like those New Orleans stories in recent reporting," he said.

Ellis said yesterday she was coming forward to air her side of the story. "I want the truth to be known, I've been called a liar and a liar I'm not."

Flynt is calling for Vitter to resign on the grounds that he violated the conservative values he based his campaign on. A spokesman for Vitter declined to comment to the New Orleans Times-Picayune after the press conference, "other than to say the senator is focused on important Louisiana issues."

ABC News, AP and CNN have more on this story.

Flynt photo courtesy of lukeisback.com

Posted at 2:45 PM
Posted to: Congress, Crime, David Vitter, Senate
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