Vitter and wife address D.C. madam scandal

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is expected back in the Senate today after a week spent in his home state, grappling with the fallout from his admission of contacts with the escort service of the “D.C. Madam.”

Vitter addressed the cameras in Metairie, La., yesterday alongside wife Wendy. He reiterated his previous apology for his past actions, which he has deemed “very serious sins.”

{mosads}“Last week, we thought it was very important to have some time alone with our children,” Vitter said, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Vitter and his wife did not take questions from the press after their statements, the local newspaper reported, but the freshman conservative did repudiate several reports that he patronized New Orleans brothels in addition to the escort service of Deborah
Jeane Palfrey, the alleged “D.C. Madam.”

Wendy Vitter focused her remarks on the power of forgiveness, avowing a recommitment to her marriage after the revelation that Vitter had used Palfrey’s services, the local newspaper reported. Palfrey maintains innocence of the federal prostitution and racketeering charges she faces, and she has not ruled out calling Vitter as a witness in her  trial.

Vitter’s Senate office did not return a request for comment in advance of the Metairie appearance. Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), a gubernatorial hopeful and former close ally of Vitter’s, formally launched his campaign yesterday without addressing the scandal that has captured the Pelican State’s attention in recent days.