DC Madam: US Supreme Court refuses to release Deborah Jeane Palfrey's phone records

The US Supreme Court rejected a bid to intervene to allow the release of DC madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey's phone records. Palfrey's former attorney Montgomery Blair Sibley claims the records are "very relevant" to the presidential election, with rumours swirling that GOP candidate Ted Cruz is somehow involved.

Sibley has been fighting against a 2007 restraining order since February and previously threatened to release the names of the madam's black book. However, Sibley said he is now unsure of what he will do now in light of the Supreme Court's decision.

"I'm going to sleep on it and seek the counsel of people I trust," he told US News and World Report. Sibley said that he will likely make a decision this week and that he is frustrated the justices denied his request to stay the restraining order.

"I'm just trying to figure out how to let the courts know they have lost personal jurisdiction of me as a result of their actions. I'm not asking them to tell us if Nixon and Elvis are still conspiring against the country. This is a legitimate question," he claimed.

Sibley continued: "I'd like to be able to stand up and [release the records] on the Supreme Court steps, but maybe my interests are served by just having it 'appear' and make it more to trace back to me or the others that have it. Maybe it would give me more comfort that I wouldn't face criminal prosecution. We'll see."

According to US News and World Report, a chief judge of US District Court in Washington DC refused to permit a clerk to file Sibley's request seeking consideration of the matter in January. The then-chief judge argued Sibley had no legal right to hold the records because Palfrey had fired him before her 2007 trial.

Sibley's quest to release the names and information of Palfrey's clients became national news when rumours fueled by a National Enquirer report claimed Texas Senator Cruz was among them. Each of the clients reportedly paid $300 (£204.28) an hour for time with one of the madam's escorts.

Cruz has adamantly denied the rumours he cheated on his wife Heidi and was involved with Palfrey's business before she reportedly committed suicide. "I have not [cheated]. The attack was complete and utter garbage. It was complete lies. And it came from Donald Trump and his henchmen," Cruz said to Fox News' Megyn Kelly. "Those reports, they're not a little bit true, not slightly true."

Author Dan Moldea, who worked with Palfrey on a planned book, said he is sure that four of the five remaining presidential candidates are not on the list of clients. However, he remains uncertain of Cruz, who he was unfamiliar with at the time he saw the list. Meanwhile, Palfrey's former researcher Matt Jankovic, who still has a copy of the subpoena, said he did not see a connection to Cruz.

Earlier in April, Sibley released the names of 174 business and agencies whose employees reportedly used Palfrey's escort service, Pamela Martin & Associates, between 2000 and 2006. Among the entities named are the FBI, State Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Commerce, the IRS and the US Coast Guard. Thus far, Republican Senator David Vitter has admitted to being a client in 2007.