DC Madam Commits Suicide

Palfrey apparently kills herself:

Florida authorities confirmed that Deborah Jeane Palfrey, convicted of running a high-end prostitution ring in Washington, is dead in a suspected suicide, NBC News reported.

The body of the 52-year-old woman was found in a shed near her mother's mobile home Thursday morning in Tarpon Springs, about 20 miles northwest of Tampa. Police said in a statement that she left a suicide note, but they did not disclose its contents or how she killed herself.

Police did not immediately have additional comment when reached by telephone. Her attorney, Preston Burton, did not return a telephone call and e-mail message.

Palfrey, known as the "D.C. Madam," was convicted April 15 by a federal jury of running a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington's political elite, including Sen. David Vitter, R-La. She had denied her escort service engaged in prostitution, saying that if any of the women engaged in sex acts for money, they did so without her knowledge.

I can't help but be a little skeptical, though:

Brandy Britton was a professor at the University of Maryland, with a Ph.D. in sociology when she started to work as a call girl for the D.C. Madam.

Jeane Palfrey: This is a woman who was divorced, who was trying to raise two, ah, high-school children, college-age children. Great job title, the great position, all the respect in the world, but she wasn't making enough money. So she decided to do a little moonlighting.

Last October, as the investigation into the D.C. Madam was gaining steam, Professor Britton was arrested by local police on prostitution charges, making big headlines in Baltimore.

Jeane Palfrey: And she was publicly outed, is a good way to put it, she was absolutely humiliated. Ah, she couldn't take the humiliation. Her whole life was destroyed. And she, she just, ah, ultimately committed suicide.

Jeane Palfrey says she's been humiliated too, but she won't let the government bring her down without a fight.

Jeane Palfrey: I just keep my head high. I guess I'm made of something that Brandy Britton wasn't made of. You know, I, I've got something in me. What that is, it's, it can't be defined, but there's something in me that won't let 'em get away with it. And I'm not going to let these bastards get away with it.

Sound like someone who would kill herself?

Palfrey Convicted on All Counts

A very angry woman? Looking for possible revenge?

A federal jury has convicted Deborah Jeane Palfrey of running a high-end prostitution ring whose clients included members of Washington's political elite.

Palfrey was found guilty Tuesday of racketeering and money laundering.

Palfrey repeatedly denied that the escort service she ran for 13 years, Pamela Martin & Associates, engaged in prostitution. She said if any of the women engaged in sex acts for money, they did so without her knowledge.

Palfrey caused a sensation last year when she announced that to raise money for her defense, she intended to sell her phone records to any news outlet willing to pay.

Sounds like someone might start talking now that Palfrey is facing serious penalties. I honestly don't think we've heard a fraction of the real story about why she was prosecuted in such a zealous manner. I've long argued that her client list contained the names of people with high security clearances, and that makes the story a national security issue, not a sex and gossip story that should have been pursued differently; as in, OK Ms Palfrey--you now have full immunity. Let's have a clear, open and honest look at your clients and let's see who they are so we can revoke or suspend their security clearances and get to the bottom of what went on here.

I mean, if club-hopping arms-dealing Eurotrash gets a reprieve from having to testify before Congress after screwing the taxpayer out of several hundred million dollars, how do you justify going after Palfrey like this?

WTWC takes a stand for all bloggers in the Scooter Libby criminal case

[Cross-posted from Watching Those We Chose, unaltered. For those who don't know, WTWC is where I practice journalism, and I was one of the two bloggers who brought the petition before the court.]

Just a few minutes ago, an amicus brief was filed in Federal District Court in Washington D.C. petitioning for the public release of the pre-sentencing letters that were submitted to the court for consideration in the sentencing of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. For once, the blogs are pushing back after being singled out by Libby's attorney for scorn and ridicule. Two of the principals from right here at Watching Those We Chose are proud and honored to be the named parties in this formal legal brief filed with the court, not just on behalf of ourselves, but more importantly, for all of the blogosphere.

Bloggers across the spectrum did an incredible job covering and analyzing the Libby trial. Led by the groundbreaking work of FireDogLake, with Marcy Wheeler and Jane Hamsher live blogging the trial in real time from the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, bloggers provided a level of coverage, opinion commentary and legal analysis that simply was not available anywhere else in the media, mainstream or otherwise.

Bloggers clearly provided something the public craved as well, because the traffic at sites working the Libby trial was off the charts during the trial. The efforts of bloggers were widely praised nearly everywhere, but are still clearly feared by the power brokers like Libby and his enablers. It was important to fight back against the slurs of Libby and his ilk, and we have.

Bloggers are here to stay, and we here at Watching Those We Chose are excited to be a part of this important effort.

Always knew I would be a party to a Federal Case before I shuffled off this mortal coil – but I was thoroughly convinced I would be a defendant…

Update: Here is a link to the brief as it was filed, h/t to No Quarter for posting that link as part of their post. I have had Adobe difficulty all day.