D.C. Madam: Feminist, Security Expert, Freedom Fighter
Just when we were looing hope in the alleged D.C. Madam's ability to deliver a home-grown sex scandal, two glorious things happened. First, Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias, director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, resigned after admitting he was a client. Then, we tore the ribbon off this gift from the front page of Sunday's Post.
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known to clients as Pamela Martin, and to employees as Miz Julia, of course, is the woman facing civil and criminal charges linked to her escort business, which serviced Washington-area men for almost 13 years. Earlier this month, Madame Palfrey gave an exclusive interview with ABC News, which has been held for broadcast until this Friday -- a perfect start to May sweeps. She also turned over her 15,000-strong client list, promising plenty of famous-for-D.C. names.
After announcing foreign policy analyst Harlan Ullman enjoyed the services of her "legal sexual and erotic services", a judge ordered her not to disclose more names. Fortunately for us, unfortunately for johns, ABC already had Mme Palfrey's phone records. On Friday, Deputy Secretary Randall, who previously ran Bush's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (and clearly would never engage in high-risk sexual behavior), submitted his resignation, but not before diplomatically telling ABC's Brian Ross about his worldly tastes.
Ross said Tobias told him Tobias's number was on Palfrey's phone records because he had called "to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage." There had been "no sex," Ross quoted Tobias as saying, and that recently he has used another service, "with Central American gals," for massages.
Photo by Flickr user billadler.
The Post also learned more about Mme Palfrey's history as an entrepreneur. After serving 18 months in a California jail for heading a prostitution ring, she told a judge we planned to sell Western jewelry in England, but instead began Pamela Martin and Associates, serving the greater Washington area. She would regularly e-mail employees to warn them about cops, women-haters and the government. Simply put, pimpin' ain't easy.
"One never quite knows where evil, i.e., the vice squad is lurking in this business," read one arch entry from 1995. "The misogynists get a real kick out of surprising (shocking) you girls, when you give them the opportunity!!! . . . Therefore, you are to lock, double lock, triple lock all doors!!! . . . Figure it out, before they 'get cha'!!!"
Mme Palfrey appears in court today, though she's filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the criminal preceding. If her court documents and fervent desire to depict herself as unfairly hounded by Uncle Sam to anyone who will listen are indication, Palfrey might be just want D.C. needs to get through the summer doldrums. At least, that is, the part of the city interested in either law, media, power or sex, which frankly, should cover just about everyone.