Whats the Story with Vitter

[erpowers]

During the Governors race there were stories that Vitter had cheated on his wife with a prostitute, or that he had some type of relationship with a prostitute. Where those stories true? What was going on with Vitter at that time?

[Merusault]

1. Vitter

It's well known that he and his wife separated for some time but the protitution rumors are unsubstantiated. I guess it's just speculation, but it certainly would not surprise me.

[Pump Man]

2. Still got kool-aid drinkers supporting him

Vote--http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6092749

[AnnInLa]

3. I read on Daily Kos last week

that he had had an extra-marital affair and fathered a child out-of-wedlock. Kos reported that everyone in LA knew about it, but were willing to overlook it. Hmmm, it was the first I had heard of it, and it made me look at those "family" TV spots a little differently....repub family values at work, I suppose.

[JaneDoughnut]

4. I found this in my email today

http://www.louisianaweekly.com/cgi-bin/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?2002
0603p

Congressman is accused of having an alleged affair with prostitute
By Christopher Tidmore
June 3, 2002


Just over one month ago, Vincent Bruno went on statewide radio and alleged that Congressman David Vitter had engaged in an extramarital affair. He refused to provide more details until now.

In what is becoming a high stakes political battle between some of the most prominent members of the Louisiana Republican Party, Bruno has charged that a prostitute, who stated her name to be Wendy Cortez, allegedly confessed to him to having a paid sexual relationship with the Congressman. Two separate and independent sources appear to
confirm Bruno's allegation stating that Cortez also recounted to them the details of her alleged affair with Vitter.

Supporters of Vitter flatly deny Bruno's charges. They accuse him of having political motivations, and question the veracity of Cortez's story.

"I know it's not true. I don't give it any credence," says Jim St. Raymond, political consultant to David Vitter.

Vitter's official spokesperson, Tonya Newman, says the motivation is revenge because Vitter defeated Dave Treen in the First District Congressional election to replace Bob Livingston two years ago.

Bruno, who supplied documentation of detailed accounts of his meetings with Cortez, along with specific testimony that she provided against the Congressman, claims that he only came forward with the prostitute's name and personal information when pressed as a means to protect his integrity.

The Claims

In the midst of the First District Congressional Race left vacant as a result of the resignation of Bob Livingston two years ago, Bruno asserts that a young woman contacted the Treen Campaign claiming that she had engaged in an affair with Vitter.

Bruno states that he and another prominent Republican subsequently met with the woman. She reportedly told the men that under the alias of "Leah," she regularly had sex with Vitter - at the time a State Representative - in a small apartment on the corner of Dumaine and Dauphine Streets in New Orleans.

Bruno, who by his own admission says he was working "independently" of the Treen Campaign, arranged another meeting with Cortez -this time in Baton Rouge. He claims that he had Cortez flown to the state capitol, housed in a hotel, and resumed the questioning.

Cortez, according to Bruno, recounted the chronology of her alleged affair with Vitter saying that Vitter contacted her through a local New Orleans escort service and visited her for a period of several months making appointments typically on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bruno also states that the GOP official from the first meeting was again in attendance, along with another prominent Republican with no connections to the Treen Campaign to evaluate whether or not her story was true.

Each man, independently and on the promise of anonymity, gave The Weekly a detailed account of the second meeting with Cortez, providing specific comments and claims that she made against Vitter.

Can She Be Trusted?

At yet a reportedly third meeting that Cortez had with Bruno, WDSU Investigative Reporter Richard Angelico attended. Bruno says that Angelico heard Cortez's story and was interested in airing it. However, Cortez refused to give out her name on TV then, nor would provide a valid Social Security number to confirm her identity.

Bruno says the prostitute told him she was worried about the negative effect her appearance on television making these claims would have on her daughter. Without a valid identity to make the claim, Angelico dropped the story. Mr. Angelico confirmed this story and his reasons for not pursuing it.

The refusal to go public was not the only thing that brought Cortez's integrity under question. Some of her statements did contradict one another. In one of her comments, that one of the witnesses provided, Cortez stated that she had spent the previous evening at a Casino and won five thousand dollars. A short time later, in the same interview, she claimed that she did not have enough money to pay her rent-hardly
consistent points.

Vitter's Response

"All these rumors are obviously untrue. They are coming from his enemies, and they have not been successful politically, so they are going after him personally-and his family. I think it's significant to know that these people have had a vendetta against Vitter since he was in the Legislature," says Newman.

Rep. Vitter refused comment on the record.

Jim St. Raymond maintains, "Where is the proof. Where is the proof! Where is the girl? I know it's not true. I don't give it any credence."

Cortez, Bruno admits, is missing. Neither Bruno nor his fellow Republicans can find her. "Look, until she comes forward, I'm even willing to give the Congressman the benefit of the doubt, but regardless, she made these claims," Bruno told The Louisiana Weekly.

The two other witnesses also stand by the story.