Last year, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam," was suggested as a possible running mate for John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But thanks to a development from earlier this afternoon, that probably won't be happening. From the AP:

A federal jury has convicted a woman of running a high-end prostitution ring that catered to members of Washington's political elite.

The verdict against Deborah Jeane Palfrey was announced in a courtroom Tuesday afternoon.

Palfrey has repeatedly denied the escort service engaged in prostitution, and that any sex acts happened without her knowledge. Palfrey caused a sensation last year when she announced that she would sell her phone records to news outlets to pay for her defense.

But the trial didn't reveal many new details about the service or the identities of its clientele. Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana was linked to the case but didn't testify.

Well, even if it wasn't as explosive as expected, the trial yielded up a few new juicy details. Like the fact that one of Palfrey's escorts was a former professor and university department chair. Or the fact that Palfrey's prostitution service was patronized by several well-pedigreed lawyers (including Yale law grad Christopher Sorrow, who is presumably pretty sorrowful about being involved in this mess). Or the fact that Palfrey employed "testers," like trial witness Paul Huang, to evaluate the suitability of aspiring escorts (think "Consume-Ho Reports").

And the show's not over just yet. Palfrey has made a spectacle of herself from the start of this case, and we still have a sentencing and possible appeal to look forward to. So stay tuned.

Woman convicted of running Washington prostitution service [AP]
Professor for Hire [Inside Higher Ed via TaxProf Blog]
Four Former Call Girls Testify at Palfrey Trial [Washington Post]

Former Lawyer of the Day Louisiana Senator David Vitter is having a bad week, and it's only Tuesday. The Legal Times reported yesterday that he may have to testify in the scandalous "D.C. Madam" trial. Vitter confessed last year to being a client of the escort service run by the so-called "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

A congressman testifying in a prostitution trial is going to make headlines, even with Eliot Spitzer around to monopolize the prostitution scandal spotlight. Vitter has made it worse by committing "a hit and run" while running away from the media, asking questions about the trial. From the Gonzales Weekly Citizen:

A car carrying U.S. Sen. David Vitter ran into a No Parking sign in the Gonzales Police Department parking lot Monday morning as the senator was attempting to evade members of the media, including the Gonzales Weekly Citizen, following a Town Hall forum event at Gonzales City Hall.

No one was injured in the incident, but the car - in which Vitter was a passenger - sped away from the scene with visible, but light damage following the wreck.

The sign was encased in an orange safety cone and cemented into the driveway. The sign did not appear to be damaged in the incident.

It seems like an exaggeration to describe hitting a No Parking sign as a "hit and run." Thank goodness for broadcast news, which captured the accident on video. It's a surprisingly violent collision. Vitter gets points though for driving what looks to be a fairly eco-friendly car!

'Shock and Awe' in D.C. Madam Case [Legal Times]
Vitter driver wrecks into sign after Gonzales forum [Gonzales Weekly Citizen via Politico]
Vitter's driver knocks down stop sign following press conference [4WWL]

The Hostess with the Mostest (Hos), alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey, continues to make news. First, she's advancing an interesting new defense. From Big Head DC:

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the accused “DC Madam,” filed a memo with DC’s U.S. District Court today, detailing her plans to move forward with a “Honey Pot” defense, under the representation of lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley.

The memo alleges that “the United States Government has been directly or indirectly benefiting from the operation of her service by monitoring her customers and is thus equitably barred from prosecuting her,” according to Sibley.

And government officials were "benefiting from the operation of her service" in other ways, too.

Speaking of which, here's more bad news for Sen. David Vitter. From the AP:

A former New Orleans prostitute who says she had an affair with Sen. David Vitter has passed a lie-detector test and will provide details of the four-month relationship at a press conference Tuesday, according to Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

Wendy Cortez, whose real name is Wendy Ellis, says she had a sexual relationship with Vitter, R-La., in 1999, when he was a state legislator.

Sounds juicy. Stay tuned.

“DC Madam” Files “Honey Pot” Defense; Names New High-Ranking Govt. Official Who Used Escort Service [Big Head DC]
Flynt Unveiling More Vitter Claims [AP via WTOP]

We've appended short updates to the original posts. But in case you didn't see them, here are postscripts to the stories of two Louisiana lawyers with possibly problematic sexual appetites: Senator David Vitter, and recent UGA law grad Philip Pirie.

With respect to Senator Vitter, a source notes:

Check out this NOLA.com post. The owner of the Canal Street brothel in New Orleans came forward to say David Vitter had been a customer. Apparently she decided to speak out because of the bad press he has been getting. She wanted to clear his name because he was not into drugs, not into kinky sex, was nice to the hookers, etc.

With defenders like this, who needs attackers?

With respect to Philip Pilie, a tipster tells us:

"Apparently Philip is still planning on taking the bar Saturday. He was also engaged. Don't know if it is still on or not."

And you thought your bar exam experience was stressful.

Former madam says Vitter was a client at Canal Street brothel [NOLA.com]

Earlier: A Bad Way To Procrastinate While Studying for the Bar
Lawyer of the Day: Sen. David Vitter
A Vitter Video Worth Watching

Here's a quick follow-up on yesterday's Lawyer of the Day -- Senator David Vitter (R-LA), who recently confessed to having been a client of the escort service run by the so-called "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

Check out this video, put together by the TPM crew. These were our favorite parts:

1. Vitter's daughter: "Way to move it, Dad!"

2. Sen. Vitter: "In life's most important moments, we're not Republicans or Democrats. We're parents."

Or, more accurately, philandering spouses.

3. The senator's wife, Wendy Vitter (also noted by various commenters):

"I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."

If the Ginsu guy rings your doorbell, Senator Vitter, you'd best send him packing.

Update: Another ex-madam has fingered Sen. Vitter. See here.

Vitter Va-Va-Voom! [TPMtv / Talking Points Memo]

Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: David Vitter

Thanks to Senator David Vitter for making it so easy to pick our Lawyer of the Day. From today's Washington Post:

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.

The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates dating from before he ran for the Senate in 2004....

"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter, 46, said in a statement....

This is not the first time Vitter has found himself in a sticky situation:

During his Senate campaign, Vitter was accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of carrying on a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans's French Quarter. In a radio interview, Vitter then called the allegation "absolutely and completely untrue" and dismissed it as "just crass Louisiana politics."

We believe him. The French Quarter? How tawdry!

For a Harvard grad and Rhodes Scholar like Vitter, only the high-class escorts of Pamela Martin & Associates -- college-educated women, including at least one Ph.D. -- would do.

(Random speculation: Might Senator Vitter have been a client of the Akin Gump Escort?)

Senator's Number on 'Madam' Phone List [Washington Post]
Sen. Vitter Apologizes for Number Showing Up on Phone Records of Alleged Prostitution Ring [Fox News]