Madam Story Keeps Mum on Clientele '20/20'Declines to Identify Those Not Already Known

Washington Post ^ | May 5, 2007 | Howard Kurtz

[Cinnamon]

During several weeks of calls to possible clients of the woman dubbed the D.C. Madam, Brian Ross of ABC confirmed that some fairly important people had used her escort service. But when he put together last night's segment for "20/20," the network's chief investigative reporter decided against outing anyone beyond the two people who already had been identified. "They just weren't newsworthy enough," ABC's Brian Ross said of the names. (By Donna Svennevik -- Abc)

"Their names won't mean anything to our audience," Ross said in an interview. "They just weren't newsworthy enough." Instead, he said, "what we really wanted to do is demonstrate the range of official Washington" involved with the escort service. Their positions, as described by Ross, made them important, at least by the capital's standards: A federal prosecutor, who recently died. A handful of military officers, including the head of an Air Force intelligence squadron. A senior official at the World Bank and other officials at

[Enterprise]

I think DAC22 has swerved into something here. O'Reilly interviewed Brian Ross, and he said Ross is a straight shooter. But as DAC22 noticed - "Ross had a sheepish worried look on his face." I pose the possibility that Ross was trying to tell O'Reilly that there were some shocking names on the list, but he was being ordered not to release them. In my own words, this is a replay of Newsweek's squelching of Howard Fineman's story on Lewinsky.

Who is ABC protecting? What are they hiding?

WHAT GOOD IS A FREE PRESS IF IT'S A FAKE PRESS??

[Enterprise]

Your comment may actually have some validity. IOW, how much Government money is lost through waste, fraud, abuse, and escort services?

[grey_whiskers]

"Their names won't mean anything to our audience," Ross said in an interview. "They just weren't newsworthy Republican enough."

There, all fixed.

Cheers!

[mware]

"One guy swore to me up and down it couldn't have been him, he loves his wife," Ross said. The man, a well-known member of a conservative think tank, was right: Palfrey, Ross said, had repeatedly misdialed his number by confusing the 202 and 301 area codes.

Sounds like they wanted this guy BIGTIME.

I wonder if the media is going to correct the impression they made on the public that a well known CONSERVATIVE think tank member was not involved. It was only Ross's dyslexia that gave that impression.

[mware]

actually it wasn’t Ross’s dyslexia as much as the hookers, but Ross wanted it to be so.

[Freee-dame]

This one service has been operating since about 1993.

I wonder why 1993 was deemed to be a good year to start an escort business in DC....mmmm...

[Dante3]

Exactly. There have to be big name Democrats on the list. Sandy Berger? Clinton?

As to World Bank, Wolfowitz comes to mind.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

O’Reilly ended the Ross segment with “we’ll see....and have you back afterwards”......Ross agreed, but I doubt now that he’ll show his face on O’Reilly again any time soon.

[tillacum]

This kind of reminds me of the Abramoff investigation. I think only Republicans took advantage of his money and influence. The democRATS were clean as new driven snow?????
Of course democRATS would NEVER use an “escort service”??

[John W]

Ross did say “no member of Congress”, “no one who works at the White House”.

[tillacum]

The madam must not have pleased someone with influence and it turned her into the police.

[mware]

LOL, yes he did not get the record for 1993-2001.

Wonder who might be on that list?

[T.L.Sink]

Maybe Drudge will break the story as he did the Lewinsky scandal when that liberal windbag,Fineman, dropped it.

[Cinnamon]

Ross did say “no member of Congress”, “no one who works at the White House”

Ross really means “no Republican in Congress” and “no one who is part of President Bush’s White House team”

[Churchillspirit]

Perhaps there some high level ABC names on the list and they bought it to surpress the names.