UPDATE, September 26: The case is roiling; take some time to catch up.

UPDATE, July 10: As a result of Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s wide-scale release of her phone records, which was first reported on Big Head DC, it has been revealed that GOP Sen. David Vitter used her escort service — a story that went unreported by the ABC News investigative team in May. When we interviewed Palfrey last month, she was adamant that ABC News made some mistakes:

June 19: Big Head DC sat down last week with alleged “DC Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey for a wide ranging three-hour interview, which is sure to make some notorious political power players squirm. New allegations of political corruption and sexual exploits, shocking insights into her case, and honest observations of media coverage to date were frequently on the tip of her tongue. (A tongue, we might add, that was schooled in criminal justice and has had intense training for a law degree.)

We spoke to Palfrey via telephone while she sat in her not-so-luxurious laundry room, labeled “command central” by Palfrey and made famous by her less-than-revealing interview with Brian Ross on ABC’s 20/20 last month, inside her government-seized home in California. Having seen and heard her in action before, we knew she’d be candid, but we wondered how far she’d be willing to go. After all, many DC Madam spectators have wondered why bigger names weren’t revealed as past clients of Palfrey during the ABC interview, and we were left to wonder, too, whether this might turn out to be a rehash of no news.

But Palfrey did make news, talking strongly and eloquently about alleged clients, a list of whom she says likely includes Vice President Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton political guru Dick Morris and other high-ranking politicos. She also adamantly denied that Chandra Levy, a government intern and acquaintance of former Congressman Gary Condit found murdered in DC in 2001, ever worked for her escort service, despite many behind-the scenes claims to the contrary. Read more…

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The former Wonkette blogger and current TIME “trapped in 2003” online editor Ana Marie Cox will be filling in for a vacationing Mika Brzezinski on Joe Scarborough’s MSNBC morning show this week.

What better venue to discuss the mystery of Lori Klausutis’ 2001 death when she was an aide to the then-Congressman Scarborough in his Florida office? At the age of 28, Klausutis, previously known to be quite healthy by all of her colleagues, was found bloody and dead, slumped next to a desk within Scarborough’s office.

Scarborough released this statement hours after the discovery:

My staff and family are greatly saddened by the loss of Lori Klausutis. I know Lori will be missed by the thousands of citizens who regularly contact my office to seek assistance with a variety of problems. May God grant Lori’s family the grace, comfort and hope that will get them through this difficult time.

And that was it. Staffers moved on, and so did Joe — eventually becoming a star at MSNBC. The Klausutis story never really received much attention in the media, apparently because he Chandra Levy story was reaching an apex at the time.

But a medical examiner said in August 2001 that Lori had sustained a “scratch and a bruise” on her head — it was unknown if the injury was a result of her fall, or whether it occurred before her fall. It was also unknown if she had died when Scarborough was in Florida or Washington. An exact time of death, apparently, could not be determined.

So! This week Ana Marie Cox has an opportunity to shed some much needed clarity on the situation. She could bring in medical examiners; she could call Klausutis’ family; she could even ask Joe why more hasn’t been made of the mysteries surrounding the grisly death scene. She could get to the bottom of this important side note of Congressional history. Do it, Ana!

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We don’t know how the 2001 unsolved murder of Congressional intern Chandra Levy could possibly have anything to do with E! (entertainment) or Hollywood (entertainment). But we’ll be liveblogging the show tonight at 8 p.m. to fill you in. Then, we’ll watch Desperate Housewives (entertainment) and not liveblog it. Sound good? Read more…

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