The Washington Sex Scandal That Wasn't?

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Palfrey, who employed college-educated women, mostly in their mid-20s, says that as far she knew, her employees and clients engaged in legal sex play -- at $275 per 90-minute session -- in the men's homes or hotel rooms. Her firm, Pamela Martin & Associates, was in business from 1993 until last year. If the women performed sex acts for the money, Palfrey says, they are to blame, not her.

She wants to find men who will testify that when they called Palfrey's firm to arrange dates, there was no discussion of prostitution, Sibley said.

In return for the phone numbers, Sibley said, the unidentified reputable media organization has agreed to supply Palfrey with any names it comes up with. And it has agreed to be selective about publicizing them, to refrain from publicly disclosing the names in an indiscriminate, wholesale fashion.

What about the sex scandal that Palfrey kept promising?

"I believe that if this news organization identifies people of significance who used the escort service and it decides to make judicious use of those names," Sibley said, "then there may be some social ramifications."

So that's a yes on the scandal?

"If you want to call it a scandal, you can. But I think potentially it speaks more to the hypocrisy of the Beltway community."