One Week
There is a good deal of anxiety and anticipation in Washington this week about an issue that bubbles to the surface with infrequent, but certain, regularity. That would be a sex scandal.
Maybe it's because the town is so buttoned down that the mere hint of garments being unzipped sends media and political elites into a breathless frenzy worthy of a high school cafeteria. There's a lot at stake these days: the Iraq war, terrorism, presidential politics. But all may be overshadowed by the so-called D.C. Madam and the possibility that her client list contains some famous-for-Washington names.
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, facing criminal charges of running a high-end prostitution service, has dangled her allegedly powerful clients as bait in a so far bizarre defense strategy. A high-ranking State Department official has already taken a fall-as has a low-ranking law firm secretary who moonlighted as an escort for extra money. Several news organizations are wringing their hands about whether to reveal more names. Lawyers and spinmeisters are lining up.
But there remains the question of just what kind of crime, if any, has occurred. Past scandals have had higher stakes: Did the mob use women to influence JFK? Surely Wilbur Mills, the head of the House Ways and Means Committee, had to go when he was caught drunk and dancing on stage with a stripper. Insurance lobbyist Paula Parkinson may have traded sex for votes. Elizabeth Ray had a no-show job ("I can't type ... I can't even answer the phone") so she could dally with a congressman and his friends. And, of course, when the Brits have sex scandals, they involve Soviet spies and toppled governments.
Some say it's not the sex; it's the hypocrisy. The State official, Randall Tobias, ran a program that pressured countries to stamp out prostitution. Or maybe it's not the crime but the coverup. Administration officials were fuming that folks on "the list" should have either been more discreet or voluntarily resigned. But whatever the damage, the greatest fear was maintaining the cardinal rule of Washington. As one Hill aide put it: "I hope the list is bipartisan."
This story appears in the May 14, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.