David Vitter dodges D.C.'s "hottest seat"

The case against the alleged "D.C. Madam" went to the jury Monday without the testimony of perhaps her best-known client, Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana.

Federal prosecutors say Deborah Jeane Palfrey ran a prostitution ring in the nation's capital for 13 years. She claimed that the escorts dealt in fantasy, not sex.

Last summer, after Vitter's name surfaced in news stories on the case, he admitted to patronizing the ring. Indeed, he made the admission at a news conference now more famous for the pained expression worn by his wife, Wendy, who looked as if she wanted to toss Vitter out of an airplane. (No Silda Spitzer stoicism for her.)

Vitter declined to go into detail, saying only that he had committed a "serious sin," confessed to his wife and been forgiven by her. He hasn't publicly addressed the matter since.

Palfrey's lawyers had threatened to rip open her "black book" and call the biggest names in it to testify in her defense. Prosecutors called the witness stand "the hottest seat" in D.C.

But Vitter played hardball too, hiring big-shot Washington defense lawyer Henry Asbill. Earlier this month at a pre-trial hearing, Asbill attempted to quash ...

a subpoena issued to Vitter, saying its only purpose was to humiliate him.

In the end, neither side called Vitter, or any of the other prominent Washington figures whose names surfaced in the government probe -- including the Pentagon strategist who coined the term "shock and awe" during the invasion of Iraq.

Instead, the prosecution made its case by calling 12 former escorts who worked for Palfrey to describe the sex acts in which they engaged for money. One was a U.S. Navy officer. Another had a Ph.D in education.

Three former Palfrey clients did testify. But the well-known names escaped scot-free.

-- James Oliphant

James Oliphant writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau.

Photo credit: Associated Press