Yikes. From Josh Marshall:
Uh-oh. DC Madam “considering” selling 13 years of her service’s itemized phone records to the highest bidder to raise money for her legal defense fund.
Late Update: Now the Madam’s lawyer tells us this: “The records identify the telephone number of the customer. Since 2000, the customers and the independent contractor escorts of the service almost exclusively used their personal cellphones, their identifying information is readily and publicly available. Jeane will cooperate with whoever acquires the information to supplement it with other information at her disposal.”
We might have to start up an ActBlue list.
***
POSTSCRIPT: In all seriousness I think there is nothing wrong with the general idea of sex between consenting adults, paid or not. Even when it comes to politicians it only really matters in the terms of the more usual scandal in which political favors are exchanged for valued goods. Sex, money, Louis XIV armoires, whatever. So if this list ended up on my desk I’d probably put it in my pocket and forget about it.
With that out of the way, there remains something about the fear this will strike in huge swathes of DC that amuses the hell out of me.
Zifnab
I wonder how many times Mayor Guliani is listed in there. Or Sam Brownback. Or Ted Haggard.
Jake
And if you can’t get Soros, try Flynt.
Maybe this will spark some pre-emptive confessions. Watching quasi-repentant pols blub on TV always amuses the hell out of me.
Lee
waaaaay offtopic but something you might find interesting in a science sort of way
UT Scientists Develop Promising New Procedure To Differentiate Human Embryonic Stem Cells
ThymeZone
One of the best entrepreneurial ideas I have seen in a long time.
dreggas
I have little issue with the whole pay for sex thing or what have you. Where I do take issue is when you have some hypocritical politician (or televangelist for that matter) who claims to be so pious, pure and holy and preaches against the “sins” of others who’s buying said services.
What becomes even more amusing when you really think about it is that usually the more they rail against it the more perverted their tastes are.
Andrew
Just once, but it’s the dedication.
Zifnab
I don’t have anything against prostitution in theory. But in practice its right up there with drug dealing and racketeering in terms of “professions that will get you stabbed or shot”. I mean, we have enough trouble regulating employment practices that don’t involve penetration of an orifice. There’s just so much room for abuse and corruption and unethical business practices that I can’t feel bad about them making the whole trade illegal.
Pb
I’d argue that in practice, the biggest threat to our democracy regarding prostitution and politicians is blackmail. So if this list was destroyed, or if it were published and all concerned were exposed, those would probably be the best outcomes, in my opinion.
Gex
I like to think that members of the GOP and their “we’re the morality party” attitude should be afraid of being found on this list. Sadly, no amount of hypocrisy seems to wake up their followers or hurt their positions.
Tom Hilton
The prostitute angle is just good gossipy fun, but it could be the hook needed to get the news media to pay attention to what they probably think of as just another boring old bribery scandal. (Because the real news isn’t politicians hiring prostitutes; the real news, in all likelihood, is politicians having prostitutes paid for by lobbyists…which is something else entirely.)
Pb
That’s redundant–politicians paid by lobbyists already are prostitutes1…
1 prostitute (n.) 2. One who sells one’s abilities, talent, or name for an unworthy purpose.
Rome Again
Damn, is Heidi Fleiss at it again?
Rome Again
Define unworthy. I bet at least one person involved in each prostitution deal sees SOME worth in it, or money wouldn’t exchange hands.
Otto Man
That was my reaction, too. The man has the money to make the highest bid, no qualms about using the information, and a track record along exactly these lines. Remember his takedown of Bob Livingston?
Flynt may be a grade-A perv, but he loves nothing more than taking down hypocrites.
Rome Again
Ya know, I have absolutely no problem with self-described perverts who partake in law-abiding businesses and who have no moral compunctions against pointing out hypocrisy, really!
The Other Steve
Oh come on now. We all know her #1 customer was Dick Morris.
jake
Flynt may be a grade-A perv, but he loves nothing more than taking down
hypocritespants.Sorry.
And the best thing about public perverts exposing (har!) hypocrtical perverts is the HPs can’t mount a counter-strike against the PP. Although I don’t know if Flynt still qualifies as a Grade-A pervert. I mean he doesn’t try to stick it up underaged people, dead people, people who want to be animals, really animals or stuffed animals. Pretty damn tame in this day and age.
Rome Again
I take exception to that, sir. What is it to you if I want to be an animal, as long as I am not hurting anyone and anything I do is consensual?
jake
Rome Again, age 12.
Rome Again
ROTFLMFAO!
Thanks, I understand my tail is quite cute!
ThymeZone
Furrier than I imagined …. but cute.
Rome Again
That picture was taken before I learned how to shave, TZ.
ThymeZone
Too bad. I could run my fingers through that fur.
Chris Stevens
While I can imagine that some people are dumb enough to use their cell phones for this kind of thing, I really have a hard time believing that everyone is that dumb! Thats why I recommend using the phone of one of your collegues for buying drugs or setting up meetings with hookers (male or female)!
Seriously though people, make sure all of your unsavory communications is done through anonymous technology, never provide real personal information to anyone, spoof your IP addresses and never, ever use a cell phone. Did you know that the location of your cell phone calls is also recorded? The cell phone companies track what cell phone stations calls are made to and since they tend to have a pretty small coverage area, the phone company knows where your phone was when a call was made.
jake
And now we know who was the inspiration for “Pretty in Pink” (song not movie).
Mary
Oh man, is this now a furry thread?
#takes bleach shower#
The Other Steve
Given that being a hooker isn’t the safest of all professions, I suspect they require you call on an identifiable phone and they log it with someone else, in the event something happens so there is a trail of evidence.
Also, don’t you think that this madam is setting up a legal defense fund right now and is calling the people on the list about how they can join for a low low price. :-)
bud
If I were her, I’d be sure (or would have been sure) that no high Justice Dept officials were on that list, because it doesn’t take a big leap (in the never-never land of law) to read that as a blackmail threat, and a good way to have the “book” seized as evidence in that new charge.
Not at all true, at the level this woman was working. Streetwalkers with a pimp, sure, but this sort of operation has noting to do with that. Now, in this case, because of the size of the operation, she could have attracted the attention of some of the guys, but a high end “independent’s” main worry is being harassed by a client’s wife.
So, may I assume that you’re in favor of outlawing the Catholic priesthood, tax assessors and used car sales?
grumpy realist
Heck, we’ve got an even better example from history: Harriet Wilson and her publication of her memoires. Would take her clients out of her reminiscences–for a price.
Resulted in the Duke of Wellington’s comment upon being approached: “Publish and be damned!”