The Vitter Scandal Plot Thickens

But only a little bit. This breaking news seems to confirm that Vitter was, indeed, in contact with the DC Madam:

A phone number for Sen. David Vitter, R-La., appears at least five times in the billing records of what federal authorities say was a Washington call-girl operation, the first just four months after he was sworn in to the U.S. House in 1999 and the last on Mardi Gras 2001.

Under pressure earlier this week, Vitter acknowledged committing a "very serious sin" and that his number showed up in the records of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who has come to be known as the "D.C. Madam." An attorney for Palfrey has said Vitter's number was found once in the records, but a search of the documents by The Times-Picayune turned up four more calls to a number once registered to Vitter. The attorney said that clients also used phones in hotel rooms, so that not all the numbers can be traced to the callers.

However, the good news for Vitter, if you can call it that, is that, unless allegations of more recent misconduct surface, he is unlikely to face either prosecution for a criminal act of solicitation, given that the statute of limitations has passed for when these incidents seem to have occurred, or even an Ethics Committee investigation because the transgressions occurred during Vitter's stint in the House of Representatives, where he no longer serves.

But the damage done to his reputation may not be insurmountable. That remains to be seen. Eventually, he will have to face the music and his public. Fortunately for Vitter, but unfortunately for the state of Louisiana, Louisianians tend to forgive their corrupt and fallen politicians quite readily and also tend to re-elect them over and over again, too, until they are finally locked up in jail.