Jul 16, 2007 7:35 pm US/Eastern
Senator Denies Prostitution Accusations
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ―
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Sen. David Vitter, R-La., speaks to the media with his wife Wendy Vitter in Metairie, La., Monday, July 16, 2007.
CBS News
Republican Sen. David Vitter on Monday denied charges that he had relationships with New Orleans prostitutes and said he will return to work in Washington this week.
In a news conference in suburban Metairie with his wife, Wendy, by his side, Vitter offered an apology to "all those I have disappointed and let down with the actions of my past."
Last week, Jeanette Maier, a former madam, told the AP that Vitter had been a customer of her New Orleans brothel. She pleaded guilty in 2002 to running the illegal establishment.
On July 9, Vitter apologized for committing a "very serious sin in my past," acknowledging that his Washington phone number was among those called several years ago by an escort service that prosecutors say was a prostitution operation.
Telephone records show that the Washington service called Vitter's number five times from 1999 to 2001, while he was a U.S. representative.
"I will work every day to rebuild that trust," Vitter said Monday, adding, "My admission has incurred some longtime political enemies," he said.
The 46-year-old first-term Republican U.S. senator and his wife, Wendy, live in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie with their four children.
He recently played a prominent role in derailing an immigration reform bill backed by President Bush, and he is Southern regional campaign chairman for Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid.
Vitter, a Harvard University graduate and Rhodes scholar, spent six years in the House — beginning in January 1999 — before being elected to the Senate.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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