Sen. Stabenow's husband tells police he had sex with prostitute

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Associated Press

4/2/2008, 1:06 p.m. EDT
By NATASHA ROBINSON
The Associated Press

TROY, Mich. (AP) — The husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow told police he used the Internet to make a date with a prostitute and paid her $150 for sex at a hotel, according to a police report.

Thomas Athans, 46, co-founder of the liberal TalkUSA Radio network, was stopped by police who were investigating Internet-based prostitution at the hotel, according to a police report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press under the state Freedom of Information Act.

The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News first reported on the case in stories on their Web sites.

Stabenow, in a statement, said it was "very disturbing and serious. Obviously it's a deeply difficult and personal matter."

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-52/1207151651221760.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. This is a sad thing, she's a nice lady

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. She would be a great pick for VP if not for where she was born

[LisaM]

6. Are you thinking of Jennifer Granholm, who was from Canada?

To my knowledge, Stabenow was born in the US.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. That was indeed what I was thinking

:dunce:

[Cal Carpenter]

7. Gladwin, Michigan?

I'm pretty sure that's where she was born...

[Freddie Stubbs]

14. Doh! I had her confused with Gov. Granholm

:dunce:

[Cal Carpenter]

24. Ah, that makes more sense

I'm not so sure about Stabenow being VP material. But Granholm, she's pretty darn good - especially considering the state of the state of Michigan these days. She's got a tough job.

[TahitiNut]

27. Not in my opinion. Nope.

Far too many Bush-enabling votes for my taste, including the despicable Bankruptcy legislation. :puke:

She's one of my Senators (the other is Carl Levin) and I just couldn't vote for her last time.

[The_Casual_Observer]

28. It's a good thing that nobody is taking your advice then.

[noamnety]

78. She's a nice lady when she isn't voting for torture. (nt)

[featherman]

3. I recently "slept" with a prostitute LOL

On a plane trip from New York to Atlanta. She was my right hand seat mate on the flight and had been in New York getting interviewed by various shows as an "expert" on the Spitzer scandal. After an interesting conversation with her about her line of work at the famous Moonlit Bunny Ranch, we both napped a bit. My spouse was on my left in the other seat so I guess that was really kinky. LOL

On edit: sorry. Didn't mean to make light of Ms. Stabenow's heartbreak and embarrassment but couldn't resist the topical opening.

[Bonobo]

4. Legalize prostitution. It's no crime to want to have sex.

[LoZoccolo]

5. I find it disturbing and serious too that

- tax dollars in Michigan, where I grew up and where my brother still lives, and is facing economic difficulties, are being spent on this frivolous sting operation for a victimless crime that people wouldn't even know is going on and...
- going in and out of a hotel room within fifteen minutes is considered probable cause of anything at all and...
- this guy seemingly didn't know that you do not tell the police anything; they will probably not go easy on you if you talk because there's no reason for them to do so

[AZ Criminal JD]

10. No victim? Isn't he married? Isn't Sen. Stabenow a victim?

[LoZoccolo]

11. Do the police also set up sting operations to catch people having affairs? n/t

[AZ Criminal JD]

15. Prostitution is a crime for many reasons including disease and public health

If you are seriously going to compare prostitutes, selling themselves to hundreds of men, with the average woman involved in an "affair" you are living in an alternative universe. What disease has this guy transmitted to the Senator? Who knows? She will have to get tested. You were the one who said there were no victims. I don't care what kind of conduct police target -- there are victims.

[LoZoccolo]

20. Do the police also set up sting operations to catch people having promiscuous uprotected sex? n/t

[AZ Criminal JD]

30. I notice you have evaded the question - Is Sen. Stabenow a victim or not?

You said it is a victimless crime in your post. So what is your answer?

[TheDebbieDee]

39. In my opinion, Sen. Stabenow didn't become a victim

until she was informed of her husband's "crime".

[Ken Burch]

50. And you DON'T think she became a victim the first time she had unprotected sex with Mr. S.

AFTER he got home from the hooker?

For the love of God, get the senator to an STD test NOW. No Joke.

And have Mr. S. fixed.

[TheDebbieDee]

58. But she didn't KNOW she was a victim til

her husband was arrested.

[Ken Burch]

64. If he had bareback sex with a hooker, that doesn't matter.

Enough with the hairsplitting.

[TheDebbieDee]

83. He could have done that with anyone......

not necessarily a hooker.

My point is that the industry should be legalized and regulated, as it already is in many European countries.

And the people that work in that industry should not have to worry about being victimized by the judicial system.

[Ken Burch]

109. The point is, the man endangered his wife's health and thus DID victimize her.

The fact that she didn't know of this until the story blew up hardly changes that.

And I'm not blaming the sex worker here, I'm blaming the senator's scumbag of a husband.

[LoZoccolo]

40. Yes, and prostitution is a victimless crime.

Adultery is not a victimless act.
Pimping is not a victimless crime.

[noamnety]

82. And if this woman had a pimp?

It sounds like she did, from the article. So ... not a victimless crime.

[LoZoccolo]

110. Prostitution is a victimless crime. n/t

[noamnety]

112. No, it's not.

If she is a victim of human trafficking, she's being raped.

A person buying a prostitute from Craigslist - much less one who says someone else set it up for her (sounds like a pimp to me) - has no way to know her circumstances or if she's even in a position to give consent. It's like shooting a gun into a crowd with a blindfold on, you don't know if you're going to victimize someone or not when you do it.

You aren't in a position to know if she's a victim or not.

Neither is anyone else on this forum - yet all the sympathy seems to be going to Debbie Stabenow, a privileged woman with power, and nobody seems to have 2 words of concern about a woman whose body someone else is arranging to sell.

[LoZoccolo]

113. Human trafficking is not a victimless crime.

Prostitution is a victimless crime.

We could go on and on but I'd just look like the smarter one.

[noamnety]

114. How can you separate the two

if the person doing the prostitution is a trafficking victim? That makes the John a rapist.

[LoZoccolo]

116. How can you conflate the two

if the person doing the prostitution is not a trafficking victim?

Some Chinese restaurants got busted this week for bringing in trafficked indentured servants. Are we going to get rid of Chinese restaurants? Are they going to be illegal now? That makes you a slavedriver, by the way!

Some concepts to assist you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venn_diagram

[noamnety]

120. That's a big IF

the point is you DON'T know, and the odds are food if you pay to screw a woman, that she's not there willingly. In the netherlands, the estimate is 1 out of 4 women working as a prostitute is a sex slave - being raped daily. So a man there who buys rights to women there just twice has a 50-50 chance of being a rapist - and the people who support that really don't give a famn, they care more that a man has the right to jam his d*** into another person than they do about rape. And they hold that up as a shining veacon of sexual liberation. When a quarter of the women are in slavery, that's only liberation for men.

[AZ Criminal JD]

122. Look like the smarter one? Only if you're the only one looking at these posts.

[JVS]

76. This is a very strange path that you're following. Currently marriage does not have a bearing on...

the legality of the sexual activities performed by the married couple. Adultery is no longer a criminal offense. So she's not a crime victim. Turning back the clock on this would re-open a whole lot of issues concerning government regulation of sex.

[Freddie Stubbs]

36. They do at the Minneapolis Airport

Just ask Larry Craig.

[girl gone mad]

70. Prostitutes are known disease vectors.

Prostitution is linked to human trafficking, child sex workers, drugs and organized crime. Most people don't want hotels full of hookers in their neighborhoods.

[TheDebbieDee]

85. Most people don't want hotels full........

And that's why there should be clearly defined districts in each community where the trades are practiced.

Workers go to these districts to work. When they are not working, the workers go home to their families. This has worked well for decades for many countries in Europe.

[MarkInLA]

29. If we follow your logic...

...then we may as well make it illegal for anyone to have more than "x" number of sex partners per year.

[AZ Criminal JD]

32. Technically in most states it already is if you are married.

But I have a feeling that term has no meaning to you.

[dysfunctional press]

48. adultery is not illegal.

unless money is exchanged.

[noamnety]

100. It's a felony in Michigan.

THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE (EXCERPT)
#
750.29 Adultery; definition.
Sec. 29.

Definition - Adultery is the sexual intercourse of 2 persons, either of whom is married to a third person.
#
750.30 Adultery; punishment.
Sec. 30.

Punishment - Any person who shall commit adultery shall be guilty of a felony; and when the crime is committed between a married woman and a man who is unmarried, the man shall be guilty of adultery, and liable to the same punishment.

http://www.sherlockpi.com/infidelity-cases/michigan-adultery-law.php

[Chovexani]

104. Not everyone is monogamous, or has a monogamous relationship

Please stop projecting your personal morality on other people and their relationships.

[TheDebbieDee]

37. If the industry were legalized and regulated............

then disease and public health concerns wouldn't even be an issue.

[girl gone mad]

71. If only.

Those arguments have long proven false in Germany and the Netherlands.

[TheDebbieDee]

86. Prove it. Please provide a link...........

From all that I have seen and heard, the workers seem to be faring well in Europe.

These workers earn a living, take care of their families, pay their taxes and take annual vacations if they want. If a customer refuses to pay or steps out of line, they can call the police and make a complaint.

In Europe, the TRADE is a way to earn a living, nothing else!

[Mojorabbit]

96. In another thread

on this subject, someone posted a link saying that as the fees for being liscenced are high that many decide to go solo and it has not taken the problem of unregulated prostitutes off the streets in these countries.

[TheDebbieDee]

99. Well, that may be a "free market" issue..........

A person in the market for such services knows that he or she is taking a risk by using the cheaper services provided by an unregulated worker.

But my whole point in all of this is that it is counter-productive to make laws and use law enforcement resources to prevent adults from having $ex.

It hasn't worked for any length of time for any society in the past and it will never work for any society for any lengthh of time in the future!

[sam sarrha]

57. husbands of senators at least..

[dysfunctional press]

47. no, she's not a victim, as she wasn't involved.

nt.

[AZ Criminal JD]

55. Not involved?

How about when she has sex with her husband? How about the smirks she knows she will get from her constituents? How about the fact that every other U.S. Senator will be thinking about this when she talks to them -- and she knows that? Oh, she's involved.

[dysfunctional press]

61. not involved.

what about when she has sex with her husband? :shrug:

[AZ Criminal JD]

126. It's called the spread of disease. Understand now?

[marshall]

84. They only got married in 2003

Maybe it was a political marriage. She'd been divorced from the father of her children since 1990 and perhaps she found it's better to have a spouse in the senate. And as far as he is concerned, I'm sure marrying her was a step up for his business interests.

[jwirr]

17. That is the first thing I was thinking also. What do we care what her

husband is doing? It in no way makes her less effective at the job she is doing.

[butterfly77]

23. Must be something...

because she voted for everything bush wanted...thats why she won't get my vote

[AZ Criminal JD]

31. She may disagree with you. Especially if she catches a disease from him.

Do you really think she has no emotional feelings over this? Are they going to make her "less effective" at her job? It is pretty presumptuous of you to say this will have no effect on her job.

[jwirr]

59. I was not referring to the victimless crime part - I was referring to

using tax payers money in a case that no one else would have bothered to look at if he was not her husband. Do you think they would be chasing our husbands around?

[MADem]

34. I think the Senator needs to lose about a hundred and eighty pounds, or so.

A divorce might help her drop that weight QUICK!

I think this situation does make her less effective. When one has trouble at home, it affects work, too.

[saigon68]

56. LOL

with that I looked up her photo

She is almost 60 years old

[MADem]

115. Never too late to trade the old dead weight in for a better model.

A smarter one, at the very least.

She oughta go younger, like those "cougars" do nowadays. Can't hurt!

Teresa Heinz got herself a young 'un, relatively speaking. So can the affronted Senator, if she has a mind to!

I hope she does--living well is always the best revenge.

[noamnety]

79. Why are you commenting on her body here? (nt)

[undeterred]

89. The 180 lbs is her husband.

[noamnety]

90. Ahhh!

Okay, that's kind of funny, then. :)

(will drink more coffee here)

[undeterred]

92. I thought the same thing at first-

Then I remembered the old joke- Want to lose 180 pounds of dead weight? Break up with him!

[Art_from_Ark]

117. It's "jokes" like that

that make men seek the company of other women.

[MADem]

106. Reread the post. Slowly, carefully. Without an expectation, or a shoulder chip.

The "weight" to be lost was the SENATOR'S HUSBAND, a hundred and eighty pounds being the weight of an average fellow.

[noamnety]

107. It's already been explained. (nt)

[MADem]

108. Ah, good! nt

[Freddie Stubbs]

18. Apperently they did go easy on him

Police did not bring any sex charges against him but later mailed him a ticket for driving with a suspended license.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-52/1207151651221760.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

[noamnety]

77. It's not a victimless crime

We have human trafficking victims in the metro detroit area here. When you buy access to women's bodies, whether it's as a prostitute or in a strip club, the reality is that you don't know (or presumably care to know) whether they are sex slaves or not. Their situation, their humanity, really isn't a concern for the purchaser.

http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/682/

I'm sorry that some folks think that women being raped daily and held hostage is a "frivolous" thing to worry about. :(

[madinmaryland]

8. And the relevance of this story is what?

Oh yea, because Fox Noise and the M$M say it is!

[TahitiNut]

26. No. It's because ...

... the Residence Inn a mere 3.5 miles to the north of me might be more fun than I thought. I'll have to check out those 900 sq' suites.

[butterfly77]

9. She has only been married to him for a few years..

[rox63]

12. This is what I think is more interesting

"co-founder of the liberal TalkUSA Radio network".

Liberals and Dems have been getting caught in a lot of stings lately. Some of this may a purposeful campaign from the RW leadership of our govt. Siegleman, Spitzer, now this guy. Could he have been set up?

[AZ Criminal JD]

16. Did someone force him to use the internet to contact the prostitute?

Did someone force him to go to the motel? Set up??

[sce56]

21. No but I bet they gleamed the info through warrant-less wire tapping of his web surfing habits!

Beware Big Brother is watching you!

[AZ Criminal JD]

33. I'd be happy to take that bet. A judge approved a warrant.

[sce56]

63. Was that before or after they found out he was stuffing this pro?

I heard he did not make the withdrawals large enough to warrant a look by regulators. He was wiretapped on and then they started to look into the finances and got a warrant.

[TheDebbieDee]

41. You may be on to something........

Maybe this wasn't the first time you used the internet to set up a date.

Maybe his internet usage was being monitored, for the sake of National Security, due to the fact that he was a member of a subversive organization bent on spreading anti-repuke propaganda across the nation.

Just sayin'............

[asthmaticeog]

19. Who gives a shit? Is he legislating "moral values?" No. Prosecuting other johns? No.

[pinerow]

22. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

nt

[KnaveRupe]

25. He's a much more savvy shopper than Spitzer.

What? What did I say? Ow!

[YDogg]

42. TTIWWP.

Perhaps then I can weigh in.

:shrug:

[JNelson6563]

44. Love your sig-line quote

One of my favs. :toast:

Julie

[Ken Burch]

69. Shakespeare, from "Branagh V" or something like that.

n/t.

[Orsino]

101. It's the "once more unto the breach" soliloquy...

...for those keeping score at home. :thumbsup:

Personally, I can't wait for Branagh VI.

[Ken Burch]

111. That one will actually be called "The YORKINATOR".

n/t.

[Orsino]

121. "They lost France, so one man is going to make England BLEED."

:7

[Kingofalldems]

35. I knew you would be posting this when I heard the news

Anytime a Democrat gets in the slightest trouble, you are all over it.

[Freddie Stubbs]

38. Who said that this guy was a Democrat?

:shrug:

[Kingofalldems]

45. His wife is, that was your main reasoning

for the post.

[Psephos]

65. You, otoh, would never have posted it

I'd rather hear the good as well as the not-so-good and make my own judgments.

I've seen a disturbing number of posts lately criticizing the messengers, and most of them include an insinuation or character smear.

Stubbs has been here for six years and almost 20,000 posts. He's got the right to post whatever he damn well pleases, and I have the right to read or not read his posts as I see fit, without interference or suppression.

[Freddie Stubbs]

72. Maria Shriver is a Democrat. Is her husband a Democrat?

Do you get angry when people post something less than flattering about him?

:shrug:

[Kingofalldems]

103. Co-founder of Liberal Talk Network-You have been busted

again.

[Freddie Stubbs]

105. All liberals are Democrats?

[YDogg]

43. Is it more appropriate to deny that Dems are occasionally idiotic (or worse), too?

:shrug:

[JI7]

118. sorry, but i want to know of news of Democrats involved in this shit also

so i don't sound like a fool when i bring up the Vitter,Foley, Craig stuff to pukes.

[Judi Lynn]

46. Only an asshole would rejoice at Debbie Stabenow's misfortune. Consider the source. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

73. The Associated Press are assholes?

:shrug:

[Ken Burch]

49. OK...Stabenow is married to an asshole.....

And your point is...?

(Other than that the guy should probably sleep on his stomach tonight?)

[GOPNotForMe]

51. Poor Debbie.

She deserves better than this.

[elocs]

52. We celebrate and dance when it is a Republican who gets caught in sex hanky-panky,

but we beg off and make excuses when it is a Democrat, claiming it was a victimless crime or that prostitution should be legalized, or that it is a conspiracy just to get Democrats. Whether any of these actions are victimless or not, or whether the actions should be decriminalized, the point it that these things happen to people regardless of their party affiliation. That being said, there is little we can do in life of any importance that does not have an impact upon the lives of other people--friends, family, or even constituents. No man or woman is an island and life is much about choices and consequences.

[alarimer]

53. What a pig.

I'd divorce him if that happened to me.

[TheCowsCameHome]

54. Why the fuck do they have to interject Limbaugh's 2 cents worth?

This pisses me off to no end - who the hell is that fat bastard to comment on ANYONE'S situation, given his seedy past?

I live for the day when Limbaugh's obit appears in print..................

[Zorra]

62. Because AP stands for "Advanced Propaganda". The AP is a fascist

tool and it is only natural for them to refer to other fascists, like Limbaugh, for their content.

[Ken Burch]

68. Don't hold you're breath on that one. Limbaugh's among the undead.

n/t.

[Purveyor]

60. I'll never forgive Debbie for siding with the 'credit card bankers' and voting for the bankruptcy

"reform" bill however, I sympathize with her in this time of great personal distress...

Yes she is MY Senator from the great State of Michigan...

[dkf]

66. High powered woman with a dog of a husband. Sounds familiar.

[FrenchieCat]

67. What is it about these prostitutes?

Geeze!

Sad.

[JVS]

74. $150. It would take him a long time to match Spitzers $80k total

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

102. He's fiscally conservative...Good for him!

nt

[Massachusetts]

75. Top 2 marrige spoilers

- Money $$$$$
- Sex

[noamnety]

80. Another example of how the system is stacked against women.

She has a pretrial hearing scheduled. He has no charges against him.

[Freddie Stubbs]

88. Tell that to Elliot Spitzer. He is the one in hot water, not the ho.

[noamnety]

91. "ho" is not an appropriate way to refer to a woman. (nt)

[Freddie Stubbs]

93. It is usually a disrespectful to use the term, unless it is actually the person's profession

[noamnety]

94. "prostitute" is a profession. "Ho" is a gender slur. (nt)

[Freddie Stubbs]

98. It is only a slur to prostitutes

[Doctor_J]

81. Looks like the sex life of every Dem in the US is going to be investigated

between now and November. Get ready for the sleaziest campaign in history.

[CANDO]

87. This must be what Karl Rove has been up to...

go around the country and help his US Attorneys nail Democrats.

[AZ Criminal JD]

123. This is not a federal case. It was a state case.

[Mountainman]

95. Why is this news? Who cares? Next we'll have a report on Britney's latest mental distress!

[Infinite Hope]

97. Good GRIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stupid sluts all over the place. n/t

[superconnected]

119. I hope she dumps him instead of plays the good little wife.

If nothing else he's a health risk.

[Fumesucker]

124. Anyone who claims the husband is a health risk is assuming they are having sex..

There are a lot of "platonic" marriages out there..

The point being that we do not know the relationship between these two people and anyone making judgments either way is assuming information that they do not have.

[maryallen]

125. Take this thread down, please.

It has been up five days and is an embarrassment to Sen. Stabenow. She doesn't deserve this. It is about her husband, not her.