You didn’t think we could get through the last few days of 2007 without one more Smithsonian scandal, did you? The Post has a lengthy report today on National Museum of the American Indian’s retiring director Rick West and the whopping $250,000 of Institution funds he spent on travel and luxuries. Although West can account for some of the travel — going to visit Indian reservations, meeting donors — much of it is vaguely characterized…

There seems to be no end to the drama playing out at the Smithsonian Institution. The story so far: Former Secretary Lawrence M. Small resigned back in March amidst allegations of gross financial expenditures and poor management decisions. He was replaced by acting Secretary Cristián Samper, and the Board then began an overhaul of the Institution based on a scathing report on the state of museums issued earlier this year. Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating…

The Smithsonian Institution continues to bleed to save itself as Sheila P. Burke, the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, resigned yesterday. Burke was the second in command to Lawrence P. Small, who resigned as Secretary back in March. The Washington Post reports today that the Board of Regents isn’t taking the call for restructuring lightly, and Burke took the hit after her $1.6 million in compensation from outside activities came to light. The Regents…

Deborah Jeane Palfrey is a cruel mistress. Err, madam. For months now we’ve been patiently waiting for the D.C. Madam story to break wide open with the release of some juicy names from the client phone records of the alleged former prostitution ring run out of the Pamela Martin and Associates escort service. But as you already know by now, the results have been largely disappointing, with former Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias the…

On Friday, Deborah Jeane Palfrey made her much-hyped prime time television debut on 20/20, chatting with Brian Ross about her D.C. escort business but saying her “gals” didn’t engage in illegal activities. Ross was a bit incredulous that she actually believed no sex was taking place, but Palfrey quickly confirmed that said face was indeed straight, pointing to a contract her escorts signed saying they would be fired if any criminal activity took place. While…

With something akin to glee the Post brings us the alternately colorful and shady life story of Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley this morning. At times, even DCist has wondered how Sibley, who represents the alleged madam in her civil case, could possibly be giving her responsible counsel. Besides allowing his client to give an interview with ABC news, sell off phone records to the highest bidder, tape a five-hour radio interview and…

‘D.C. Madam’ Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who communicated with employees as ‘Miz Julia’, appeared in court today, where the judge granted her request for new counsel. Her civil attorney appealed to the Supreme Court last week, saying she was given inadequate criminal representation. U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler ruled Monday that Palfrey will get a new court-appointed public defender, but the judge denied Palfrey’s request for a $150,000 budget to hire New York lawyer…

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…