Watchdog group files ethics complaint against Vitter

19 Jul 2007 // A liberal watchdog group filed an ethics complaint Thursday against Sen. David Vitter, the Louisiana Republican who has admitted to using an escort service.

The complaint, filed with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, says under Senate rules, Vitter should be disciplined for "improper conduct" and called for an investigation.

Under Senate rules, members can be sanctioned for engaging in such conduct that "may reflect upon the Senate" - even if they don't break the law. Vitter, a first-year senator, admitted earlier this month to a "very serious sin" after his number was discovered in the telephone records of the owner of a Washington, D.C., escort service. Since then, two women have come forward claiming that Vitter engaged their services as prostitutes.

The owner of the escort service, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, has said the business offered legal services such as massages and fantasy role-playing.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which filed the complaint, said the Senate ethics committee should investigate Vitter - and hold him accountable for his conduct.

"Senator Vitter's solicitation of at least one prostitute was not merely, as he has stated, 'a serious sin,' it was a violation of criminal law," Sloan said.

Vitter's office did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate ethics committee, declined to comment Tuesday about anything the committee "may or may not do."

Contributing: Ana Radelat, Gannett News Service