"Diaper" David Vitter, Louisiana's most famous family values hypocrite, is in a bit of a bind. Bonus: You can hear Vitter lying through his teeth yourself.
Last July, you'll recall, Vitter turned up on the phone list of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the "D.C. Madam." Vitter promptly followed the usual script for a politician in this kind of trouble: drag your wife out to a press conference and admit only to unspecified "sins." Vitter's stonewalling worked, with only a brief interruption when he was usually cited in stories about disgraced New York governor Eliot Spitzer.
He may now have considerably more difficulty wriggling out of trouble. Palfrey's trial on charges of running a prostitution ring begins Monday in DC federal district court, and rumors have been flying that Vitter would be called as a defense witness. On Friday, as reported by Times-Picayune Washington bureau chief Bruce Alpert,
An attorney who has represented Sen. David Vitter, R-La., told a federal judge Friday that a client of his who was subpoenaed by the defense to testify in the so-called D.C. Madam case would assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination if the court insists he appear as a witness.
The attorney would not identify his client or even confirm that he still represents Vitter (As Paul Simon might say, "Who do you think you're foolin'").
Apparently Vitter is trying the Bush Administration strategy of avoiding a subpoena by taking the Fifth in advance, but the judge is having none of it:
[Judge James] Robertson, an appointee of President Clinton, said that though he trusted [attorney] Asbill, the courts have long established that a declaration of privilege must be made in the courtroom directly by the subpoenaed witness, not a lawyer.
For a good laugh, check out the statement Vitter's office issued when asked for comment:
I want to reaffirm how sorry I am to have hurt the people I love so deeply, starting with my family and certainly including the people of Louisiana. I continue to work every day to make up for that. I continue to focus on crucial challenges for Louisiana families like health care reform and good-paying jobs.
In July 2002 Vitter appeared on a local radio show and was asked point blank by a caller if he had ever had an extramarital affair or had ever known a "Wendy Cortez," a prostitute he had been linked to in New Orleans. You can hear Vitter lying through his teeth here. He won't have that option on the stand. Stay tuned.