From BLT:
In Judge Gladys Kessler’s courtroom this morning, counsel for the U.S. government and for Deborah Palfrey—otherwise known as the D.C. Madam—tussled over stacks of phone records tucked away in the alleged madam’s basement. The records, going back 13 years, could potentially reveal that government officials, ahem, partook of Palfrey’s services.
Attorney William Cowden argued for the government that the phone records should be placed under a restraining order so that Palfrey and her civil defense lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley don’t sell the records which Cowden said were assets. He bolstered the government’s stance that the records had value by mentioning that Larry Flynt of Hustler fame had taken out an ad in the Washington Post pledging a million dollars for anyone with information on members of the government who used the escort service.
Attorney William Cowden argued for the government that the phone records should be placed under a restraining order so that Palfrey and her civil defense lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley don’t sell the records which Cowden said were assets. He bolstered the government’s stance that the records had value by mentioning that Larry Flynt of Hustler fame had taken out an ad in the Washington Post pledging a million dollars for anyone with information on members of the government who used the escort service.
“I am not going to decide the outcome of this motion on the basis of a Larry Flynt ad,” Kessler responded.
Kessler seemed a bit confused by the government’s lack of interest in the phone records as evidence in its case. “Wouldn’t it be useful for the government to have the list?” asked Kessler, adding “I don’t understand where the government is going in this case.” She also quizzed him about the customers on the list, asking him if the restraining order would wind up protecting unindicted co-conspirators.
Kessler seemed a bit confused by the government’s lack of interest in the phone records as evidence in its case. “Wouldn’t it be useful for the government to have the list?” asked Kessler, adding “I don’t understand where the government is going in this case.” She also quizzed him about the customers on the list, asking him if the restraining order would wind up protecting unindicted co-conspirators.
Cowden replied that the list wasn’t “material” to the case and that he wasn’t trying to protect the identities of anyone involved.
Preston Burton, Palfrey's criminal defense lawyer, said his client merely wanted to make the list public and was not trying to sell it for a profit. He also emphasized that the phone records are available via subpoena to either side. “This is not the formula for Coca-Cola. This is something they can subpoena,” he said.
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