United States of Amnesia? Cheney's DC Madam Problem

How soon we forget the blockbuster ABC News scoop that was - and then wasn't - much bigger and more explosive then Governor Spitzer's, because it alleged Dick Cheney was a client.

In fact, when the news broke, Bush's "AIDS Czar" Randall Tobias, a former Eli Lilly top exec, resigned in shame. He should have stalled a bit like Louisiana Senator David Vitter did - the story was going to be killed, according to Wayne Madsen who named the ABC employee that pulled the plug after White House pressure.

Madsen expanded on the story after ABC dropped it, to allege that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff was a client, as well as a lawyer in Rudy Giuliani's firm.

Senator Vitter has admitted and apologized for his part in he scandal, but is still in office, likely to be subpoenaed in the Spring 2008 trial of Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

Perhaps more sinister then the prostitution allegations are the questions of complicity in a media wash-out by ABC, whose in-house staff was originally given call records directly by Madam Palfrey.

Also according to Madsen, the probe of the DC Madam reveals much more troubling questions, including the unsolved murder of a US attorney whose boss was later fired in Bush's DOJ purge, during investigation of the DC Madam case.

This network cover-up mirrors similar allegations made in Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS News/Viacom. Hopeful his $70 million suit will go forward, Rather claims his controversial Texas Air Guard story was killed not because of the infamous disputed memo, but because of a call made from the White House.

Mr. Rather too, will likely name who in the Bush Administration made the call, and who at Viacom took it. The suit goes on to claim CBS News quashed the Abu Ghraib detainee abuse scandal to curry White House favor, until it was reported by Australian news.

Read about the Vice President's prostitution scandal here: Cheney Scandal Widens, reported on OpEd News last May, and be sure to follow the trial this April, because it's not looking like the network news will.