Dollar Bill Jefferson now wants the feds to ignore his family members' crimes. Obviously, he should not have made all these sham companies in their names to launder his dirty money. If my spouse/father/brother was a known criminal who asked me to sign off on a sham company in my name that did nothing but receive suspicious checks, I would say thanks but no thanks.
Senator David Vitter's local prostitute Wendy Yow Ellis has passed a lie detector test administered by Larry Flynt. Let's see, it's a credibility call between a politician, a hooker and a pornographer - hard to imagine anyone in any of those professions being less than truthful.
10. I was just looking for Ted Kennedy -- he's at the brothel every day.
Senator David Vitter has not had a good 24 hours. Yesterday, he apologized for a "very serious sin" in his past, i.e., using the D.C. Madam's escort service. Today, not to be outdone, our own local Canal Street Madam brothel owner fingered Vitter for paying $300 for services in the 1990s.U.S. Senator David Vitter visited a Canal Street brothel several times beginning in the mid-1990s, paying $300 per hour for services at the bordello after he met the madam at a fishing rodeo that included prostitutes and other politicians, according to Jeanette Maier, the "Canal Street Madam" whose operation was shut down by a federal investigators in 2001.
After they met, Maier said Vitter became a customer at the Mid-City brothel. He made several visits, she said, but had stopped coming before federal agents raided the brothel.
At the New Orleans brothel, Maier said Vitter spent time with several women, but preferred one in particular named Wendy. She said all the girls that were with Vitter described him as a kind, respectful man, who did not talk down to them or use drugs.
"I'm not out to ruin a marriage, I'm out to save a man," Maier said. "I want his wife to know he's a good man, I want his children to know he's a good father. If he had sex out of wedlock, so what? At least he stayed with his children."
Vitter and his wife, Wendy, have four children ages 13 and under.
It's surprising that the Canal Street Madam's list of clients has never been publicly disclosed. She wants to cash in on the list with a book deal, but one would think it would have been leaked by others by now.
Honey, kids, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I used to visit a brothel in New Orleans before I discovered the brothel in D.C. The good news is that the hookers found me to be a kind, respectful man who did not talk down to them or do drugs, like all their other politician johns. The Madam in charge of the brothel wants you to know I'm a good man and a good father. She's offered to write me a glowing letter of recommendation if I need any references for a new job in the near future.
Senator David Vitter apologized Monday night for "a very serious sin in my past" after his telephone number appeared among those associated with an escort service operated by the so-called "D.C. Madam." Vitter's spokesman, Joel Digrado, confirmed the statement in an e-mail sent to The Associated Press."This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in the statement. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."
The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was on old phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates before he ran for the Senate.
Vitter should not have done what he did, but at least he had the sense to own up to it and issue a real apology rather than the more typical politician/celebrity non-apology apology followed by a fake stint in rehab.
He also better watch out for his manhood. Here is what his wife Wendy Vitter has said she'll do if she catches him cheating:
Asked by an interviewer in 2000 whether she could forgive her husband if she learned he'd had an extramarital affair, as Hillary Clinton and Bob Livingston's wife had done, Wendy Vitter told the Times-Picayune: "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."
President Bush commuted part of former White House aide I. Scooter Libby's prison sentence. This means that Libby will avoid serving a two and a half year prison sentence, but the conviction, $250,000 fine and probation still stand.This all started with Joe Wilson's false allegation about pre-war intelligence and morphed into an investigation into who leaked the identity of his wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA employee. The special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, knew from the outset of his investigation that a) no crime had been committed because Plame was not a covert agent as defined under the act and b) that the State Department's Richard Armitage, not Libby, was the leaker. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald "investigated" Armitage's non-crime and produced no results aside from the conviction of Libby for having a different recollection of discussions he had with the media than the reporters had.
Here is the text of President Bush's grant of executive clemency. Here is the text of President Bush's full statement. The statement that "Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged" stands out. Why would he include that sentence, obviously false and which Bush cannot possibly believe, in his statement? I wouldn't expect that the President would attack Fitzgerald, but it would have been best to either not mention Fitzgerald at all or to question the investigation in more general terms.
Commuting the prison sentence but leaving the rest of the punishment intact should please about zero percent of the population. Those who understand the investigation know Libby should be pardoned. This half measure does little to satisfy them. President Bush should have pardoned Libby. The Wall Street Journal editorializes that:
Mr. Libby deserved better from the President whose policies he tried to defend when others were running for cover. The consequences for the reputation of his Administration will also be long-lasting.If President Bush hoped that keeping the conviction and the rest of the sentence intact would appease the Angry Left, he is wrong. When will he learn that no matter how many times he supports the left, whether it's with No Child Left Behind, the illegal alien amnesty bill or the massive increase in non-defense federal government spending, the left will never like him. The New York Times, predictably, whines about Bush's move. This article has more whining from the usual suspects on the left, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Stenny Hoyer and John Kerry.
Fred Thompson advocated a pardon but is glad to at least see the prison sentence commuted. "I am very happy for Scooter Libby," Thompson said. "I know that this is a great relief to him, his wife and children. This will allow a good American, who has done a lot for his country, to resume his life."
Today, a federal grand jury indicted Congressman William Jefferson on 16 charges including bribery, racketeering, obstruction of justice and money laundering. Here is the full text of the Jefferson indictment.
Politician-turned-actor Fred Thompson plans an unconventional campaign for president using blogs, video posts and other Internet innovations to reach voters repelled by politics-as-usual in both parties, he told USA Today. Thompson, a former U.S. Senator from Tennessee, has been coy about his intentions with audiences, but made clear in an interview that he plans to run. Story here.
