Just when D.C.’s johns got comfortable again.
Today, a federal judge denied the government’s attempts to keep Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the D.C. madam, from disseminating her business’ phone records. Now she’s free to do what she will with them. The government sought a restraining order on Palfrey back in March, too late to stop her from giving most of her records (Palfrey says it was about 80% of years 2002 to 2006) to ABC News, which busily matched thousands of numbers to names. Those records led to Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias’ resignation. Brian Ross, during ABC’s 20/20 report on Palfrey’s service, said that there were plenty of high-profile D.C. types on the lists — numbers of “Georgetown mansions and prominent CEOs, officials at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and lobbyists both Republican and Democratic” — but that there were no members of Congress or White House officials that they could find. Maybe in that remaining 20%?