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The Secret GOP Sex Diary
Scott J. Ferrell, Congressional Quarterly / Getty Images
Hot on the heels of the Sanford and Ensign scandals comes the adulterous tale of Chip Pickering. Max Blumenthal on why Republicans don’t want the former congressman’s diary released.
While former Rep. Chip Pickering of Mississippi allegedly carried on an extramarital affair with Elizabeth Creekmore Byrd, he recorded details of his exploits in a secret diary, including the dates and locations of his adulterous encounters.
Pickering, a Republican, described several assignations he had with Creekmore Byrd inside the C Street House, a Capitol Hill townhouse inhabited by an all-male group of right-wing Republican congressmen belonging to The Fellowship, an evangelical group, according to a person familiar with the diary's contents.
And according to a divorce filing by Pickering’s estranged wife, Leisha, the former congressman’s diary reveals the identities of several men who enabled his adulterous trysts and helped him cover his tracks.
According to a divorce filing, Pickering’s diary reveals the identities of several men who enabled his adulterous trysts and helped him cover his tracks.
So who were Pickering’s enablers? Are they or were they ever C Street House residents? And what role did they play, if any, in helping Pickering transform a house that hosted a “Christian men’s accountability group” into his love nest?
Thanks to heavily politicized local courts and an aggressive damage-control campaign waged by Pickering and his powerful Republican allies, the diary, which is said to contain the answers to these questions, is locked away in a courtroom in Mississippi. And if Pickering has his way, it will stay there indefinitely.
Pickering was once considered one of the GOP’s brightest stars. An ardent social conservative and defender of “traditional marriage,” he was seen as a shoo-in for former Majority Leader Trent Lott’s Senate seat when Lott retired in 2007. Indeed, according to Leisha Pickering’s divorce filing, Mississippi Governor and former Washington super-lobbyist and Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour personally offered Pickering the seat. But according to the divorce filing, Creekmore Byrd “insisted that if Pickering accepted the position in the Senate that their relationship would not be able to continue.”
In the end, Pickering chose his mistress over his congressional career and his wife. After serving 12 years in Congress, he announced his intention not to seek re-election suddenly in August 2007, just months after sponsoring legislation urging President George W. Bush to adopt legislation declaring 2008 “the National Year of the Bible.”
Chip Pickering is the scion of one of the most influential Republican families in Mississippi, son of retired federal appeals court Judge Charles Pickering, one of the founders of Mississippi’s post-civil rights GOP and past president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
Appointed to the federal bench by Bush in 2001, Charles Pickering encountered a ferocious Democratic filibuster fueled in part by his documented involvement with segregationist elements battling civil rights in the 1960s. After a recess appointment by Bush in 2003, Charles Pickering withdrew his nomination and retired a year later when he realized that he would never earn the votes he needed for confirmation.
Today Charles Pickering remains a towering figure in the state GOP and, along with Barbour, a key stage manager of his son’s political career.
Chip Pickering’s wife had announced her intention to divorce him by the time he resigned from Congress, but her motivation for the divorce was unknown at the time, leaving Pickering’s resignation shrouded in mystery. His affair only came to light on July 16, 2009, when she filed a lawsuit against his alleged mistress, claiming that their adulterous relationship had ruined the Pickerings’ marriage and his career.
In a statement responding to the suit, Pickering said, “I still believe it is in the best interest of our five boys if our differences are resolved privately and before the appropriate court and not in the media.”
But keeping the affair out of the media spotlight has proved difficult, especially because the identity of the alleged mistress brought forth another embarrassing detail: Pickering had taken his golden parachute from the mistress’ well-heeled and politically influential family, the Creekmores, going to work as a lobbyist for a firm that represents their Cellular South telecom company (one of Barbour’s nephews is a partner at the firm).
While in Congress, Pickering used his post on the House Telecommunications Subcommittee to invite Cellular South President Victor Meena to testify before the subcommittee in December 2007. Subsequently, the congressman reaped thousands of dollars in donations from numerous Cellular South executives.
Though Pickering is now out of Congress, the suppression of the diary is a high priority for Republican Party leaders from Washington to Mississippi. The GOP is reeling from sex scandals involving two men associated with the C Street House, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Senator John Ensign of Nevada. The revelation of private emails between Sanford and his Argentine mistress and the exposure of payments from Ensign’s casino-mogul parents to his mistress prolonged the back-to-back public-relations disasters for weeks beyond the first reports of the affairs.
The release of Pickering’s diary would likely have an electrifying effect, reigniting media interest in his dalliance and drawing renewed attention to the C Street evangelical men’s group to which he and other Republican lawmakers have belonged.
A reliable source close to Leisha Pickering’s divorce case has told me that Chip Pickering and local Republican Party bigwigs connected to Barbour’s political allies have applied a full court press on Leisha Pickering, hoping to coerce her into dropping her lawsuit.
The source said Leisha Pickering has become “skittish” about airing her grievances outside the courtroom. She has disclosed to close associates that she still has feelings for her husband of 20 years, with whom she shares five children. What’s more, she remains a devoted Republican who has grown increasingly concerned about the damage her lawsuit might cause her party.
While applying personal pressure to his estranged wife, Pickering and his lawyers have thrown up stiff opposition to her attempts to present damning evidence in divorce court.
When she attempted to introduce her husband’s diary as evidence during a July 7 divorce hearing in Mississippi, Pickering’s lawyers demanded Judge Cynthia Lee Brewer keep them under seal. Though the lawyers had scant legal precedent for their request, the judge acceded, saying the diaries were prepared in anticipation of litigation and were therefore inadmissible in court.
A source close to the case told me Brewer’s ruling was “incredibly outside the norm” and “outrageous.”
“The court seemed in awe of Chip Pickering,” an attorney speaking on background told the Jackson Free Press, “like they had decided that were going to do everything to help him out. This was blatantly wrong.”
Leisha Pickering then sued her husband’s alleged mistress, Creekmore Byrd. Mississippi is one of four states that allow such lawsuits, justifying them on the grounds that sabotaging a marriage represents deliberate interference with a legally binding contract. To represent her, Leisha Pickering has tapped two high-powered local lawyers who are both former state Supreme Court justices.
A source close the case told me the judge presiding over the lawsuit could rule to make the Pickering diary public, thereby voiding Brewer’s decision in the divorce court. So long as the judge’s decision is pending, the diary represents a ticking time bomb—with the potential to rock corridors of conservative power from Jackson, Mississippi, to C Street in Washington.
Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast and writing fellow at The Nation Institute, whose book, Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books), is forthcoming in Fall 2009. Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
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silveriofr
Once again, the Republicans have shown how hypocritical they are. They preach like they have a monopoly on "Christian Values," Family Values," blah, blah, blah.... And what do they do? They put they feet in their mouths again and again.... It's not an isolated incident. Republicans are better than anyone else..
Uncommonsense
It's not their feet in their mouths that is the problem.
larry278
The neo-con Republicans are amazing gymnasts & acrobats since that they manage to keep their collective nose in its navel while keeping their feet (foot) in their mouth(s)
sophia5
Democrats are NEVER hypocritical. LOL.
Since Liberals never preach family values,
when their politicians cheat they get a pass.
mk1228
Duh. What an enlightening statement. That's exactly the point. When you're not out there putting it (family values) front and center, then of course you get a pass. By pass do you mean resigning governorships (Spitzer/McGreevey) or political careers (Edwards)? To date Ensign & Sanford still have their jobs and it took forever for Larry Craig to get the hint. You sound like you have Palin's incredible perception into contemporary issues.
JohnHedtke
I think it's because Democrats aren't trying to claim ultimate moral authority. I'm quite sure that Dems cheat just as much as Republicans and in about the same ways; it's just that they're not elevating the issue by previously condemning everyone who does that. I'm reminded, for example, of Gary Hart's pronouncement to the press to follow him around and catch him doing something wrong. They took him up on it and he choked on his words. And I was personally disappointed, but, shoot, he was the one who threw down the gauntlet to the press. :)
BrooklynDemocrat
Clinton and Edwards hardly got passes.
citivas
Look up the definition of hypocracy. The Dems hardly get passes but you just perfectly defined hypocracy in your reasoning for why these fake social conservatives get extra attention. Its the same reason Spitzer got booted so fast, despite being a Dem. When these social conservatives cheat they aren't just revealing a personal weakness, they are undermining everything they stand for and therefore bringing into question the legitimacy of their social positions in the first place.
miefmuffin
Family values need to remain in the family and not preached by our politicians. You can not legislate morality....how many times do we need to say that???
helenrainier
Sophia -- when you can't or don't practice what you preach you lose your credibility. People such as Ensign, Sanford, and Pickering are all men who have run their traps too loudly and too often about honoring marriage vows and being faithful, amongst other things, and they carry on sleazy, tawdry affairs on the side with people other than their wives.
Therein is the difference. I trust that makes sense to you.
thekingofcheap
The Democrat party's rhetoric, which "liberals" identify with, doesn't attempt to place moral authority in the hands of government. I have to laugh when I hear Republican backers talk about less government interference in their daily lives, even as they want the government to endorse and legislate specific morals and values onto the population.
nickatdabeach
Hey Max, why not take the next 10 years to document/expose the BJ Clinton sex diary(s) and those of Barney Fagg? How about Mika Bryzinski's alleged harem of boy toys? Why not Max? ya jerk!
MariosRight
You sound pretty excited with all those sexy words. Did it do anything for yercrotch?
Clinton and Frank sex diaries? ....Never heard of 'em.
Mika Bryzinski's alleged harem of boy toys?.... Who alleged?
Where did you find this info?
ya jerk!
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fleetw1978
Nick , you may have just penned the most idiotic post of all time.!!!! Congrats on that one. Barney fagg, oh that is a classic one. I bet his feelings are really hurt. And to throw in Mika B? dude, she isn't a politician, she may not even be a celebrity. Take a breath and use the remote control to view other channels. You need to get out more often.
nickatdabeach
is it just me or does anyone else wonder is ol' Barn has a mouhful of mansperm every time he speaks? proof he doesnt swallow, thats for sure
talis13
The real question here is why nickatdabeach has penis on his mind? Why nick are you thinking about what another mans package is up to?
I think you may have some sexual ID issues. Just accept who you are and get some deep therapy for the self hatred..........
juriscribe
Wanna put a stop to these pathologic liars and hypocrites, e.g., Ensign, Sanford, Pickering and their ilk, then let's pass Sen. Leahy's federal bill that makes the "honest services doctrine" applicable to members of Congress. (Personally, I'd like to see it apply to Judges and Law Clerks as well). It'll never happen in this case but what needs to be done is for the DOJ to look into how this bible thumper, while cavorting in the C street rat's nest, used his Committee position to steer 156M of federal funds to his paramour's telecom company, Cellular South (based in Ridgeland, Mississippi).
nickatdabeach
When is Blumenthal going to do an expose` of Mrs. McCain's dalliance(s) with that younger guy -- saw it on TMZ not long ago? Has Megan McLame come out of the closet yet? Just curious on both issues.
Genni2002
For Christ's sake, another one? Must be some really racy, unknown to everyone else, version of the bible these people use and their C Street house sounds like a very active brothel. Whoring Repubs are caricatures of Christians. Maybe they will shut up finally with the moralizing platitudes?
Geez, he has 5 kids and
jdx60009
Genni2002
Just imagine what we DON'T know about, if this is the tip of the iceberg.
Genni2002
one after another surfaces and it just seems never ending..
larry278
Well, at the least, the house on C St is a disorderly house & the creatures residing there are involved in many unsavory pursuits & acts. One wonders if the so called fellowship of Christians(?) & those involved with DC's Nat'l Prayer Breakfast(s) will choose to go underground, disband or purge itself of less than reputable associates? Any such action could be called god's will by fundie Christers.
While it may be true that the views of these fundie Christer's should be called god's swill, that may offend other Christians who consider the Christian's Bible to be nothing save god's truth & it expresses god's unchangable will.
roger37
Okay, let's call the house by its given name from now on:
The C-Street Prayer Circlejerk.
vassiewb
I doubt if they will "shut up with the moralizing platitudes" because they haven't the moral fiber to do such a moral and decent thing; and, we citizens are not prone to bring them to task for those double standards. We are too busy makin their description(s) of us true--dolts who don't have a clue about anything, unless they tell us.
Mauiboy
Amazon just emailed me that my copy of "The Family" is on the way. I can't wait to learn more about the C Street Gang!
jdx60009
Mauiboy
It must be topping the bestseller list by now.
Xntrk1
silveriofr; If it was 'their feet mouths again and again' they'd be in a lot less trouble. I think they spend too much time reading the Old Testament and then trying out all those sins they list...
helenrainier
It's that "go forth and multiply" thingy that they are perfecting.
Granite
If that diary is made public the GOP will implode.
Uncommonsense
Not so much. The base will ignore every shred of evidence and blame the liberal media for publicizing the diary. It's OK if you're a Republican, you know.
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jdx60009
Uncommonsense
Since I have been posting on this site, it has really come to my attention like never before, that "Republicans" are really awful people. The hypocrisy and
self-delusion that I have read here has really turned my stomach. I don't
have any idea how these people can live with themselves and their snarl of
fearful and twisted self-importance. It's psychotic.
dbleff
jdx6009 - I'm a life-long member of the Democratic Party and a "lapsed Marxist," but I have to say that I found your comment about Republicans a little offensive. I know several Republicans who are decent, honest people who, while being fiscal and social conservatives, are willing to entertain and discuss other points of view. It would be very difficult for me to call Colin Powell or Tom Ridge "awful people." Of course, the attention whores, who are in conservative politics for their own gain and who apparently feel the strict "values" they apply to society don't apply to them, deserve all the calumny they get when they turn out to have feet of clay. As for the Democrats, well at least Clinton (and even JFK) never ran on the "I'm Not a Dawg" platform.
jdx60009
dbleff
I'm sorry you were offended. But my comment could not have been more
sincere. I've read some of the most vile and disturbing comments from
people who have no idea what it's like to live in a modern advanced society.
And what's worse, they don't want to have any idea. They want to grab
everything they can, stash it all in the Caymans, and screw all of the idiots
who want to contribute or want them to contribute. Sadly, it's been exclusively
from those with a Right leaning perspective. I didn't always think this way,
but I definitely do at this time. Selfish bordering on psychosis, no answers
to any of society's problems, and could care less as long as they're holed up
in comfort; this is a very encapsulated version of my real opinion which I'm
sure would only offend you more.
Picachu
dbleff - I hear what you are saying - not all republicans are awful people. I have republican friends. The problem is the party is now controlled by awful people. If I were a republican like Colin Powell I would be giving serious thought to leaving the republican party rather than being seen as in the same political sphere as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, the Birthers and all the other looney bins that are now synonymous with that party. Case in point follow the posts of the avid "republicans" on TDB and you find very little of redeeming value - mostly the kind of blind idealogical jingoism that one typically associates with any fanatics. I agree jdx6009 made a rather broad statement that is unfair to some in the republican party. However, while I think it is true that not all people who might identify themselves as republicans are awful people, the republican party has become an awful party. The policies the republican party has pursued over the last 30 years are basically against the interests of the vast majority of the American people. As they allowed the ruinous mess on Wall Street to develop with their foolish "let the market decide" economics it was game on down at the trough were the pigs of greed have been feasting on the hard work of the American people. After plunging us to the edge of the abyss economically they are nothing but obstructionists doing nothing to help the American people and everything to try to maintain the status quo for the moneyed special interests who drive a lot of what goes on in the neo-con political world. Meanwhile the their stupid little drones who post regularly on TDB embrace a politics that is working against them. Rush Limbaugh is a political pied piper who is leading his little neo-con army to its destruction. So jdx6009 did make too broad a statement. I agree not all republicans are awful people, but collectively this neo-con republican party is an awful party.
AlanD2
dbleff said: 'It would be very difficult for me to call Colin Powell or Tom Ridge "awful people."'
Note that the conservative base of the Republican party calls these two RINOs. There is no room at the inn for moderates.
You are certainly right that there are decent people in the Republican party. But you will be hard put to find many at the top of the party's power structure, or among elected Republican officials. I don't see any at all among the Republican talking heads on cable news and talk radio.
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gobydoc
If the diary could contain material pertinent to influence peddling on the hill, couldn't a congressional investigation subpoena the contents?
fleetw1978
1. It will never be made public. Have you ever been to Mississippi?
2. The GOP and closet racists or open racists run that state from top to bottom.
3. The MSM, could care less about C street and politicians who are not only hypocrites, but liars. If it doesn't drive ratings, they dont care. They are no longer the "fourth estate" and journalism is dead in this country. It's all about dancing with the stars and idiotic reality TV.
Shockacon
Chip Pickering is chik peckering.
Ruckus
My vote for the line of the year. LMAO
farser
Ooooooo pleeease release the diary!! :D
gustav
1) The C street facility enables so The Fellowship can control.
2) These guys are supposed to be the smart ones able to lead our country. Mrs. Clinton knew not to have a diary.
3) Confession to your peers only gives them ammunition or makes you codependent.
Vote the idiots out.
kotch52
This is such a non-issue. However, I think I'd rather read the book coming out about John F Kennedy and his affairs while in the white house, bringing women home, etc. that would be more interesting than politics. Believe me, both parties aren't angels. Theres enough to go around on both sides
EtienneEtoile
Didn't the C street facility also have gay love-ins?
MariosRight
That is 'allegedly' true.
Closeted gay repubs and repub fornicators co-habitating.
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polako1
Republican politicians are the worst type of scum. Hypocrites, liars and shameless opportunists. I love it when their foibles are exposed for all to see!
kris52339
"C Street Diaries" a must for everyone's summer reading list.
kris52339
Not since Nathaniel Hawthorne died have we had such a heady mix of sex, religion, politics, and hypocrisy. Of course, Hawthorne's work was fiction and symbolic. This is nonfiction, but a sizzling good read.
Bulldoglover100
She needs to withdraw her case and just write a book using the idiots diary! She would make a TON more money than the hooker he is now with could ever pay.
Picachu
The one he's with now isn't a hooker, at least not professionally. Her family has a TON of money.
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AlwaysOptimistic
The C Street gang all belong to The FAmily or The Fellowship or the Christian Mafia....all the same. They hide behind religion, but that is not what they are about, it is about 'power' and holding on to 'power'.
All the members of The Family believe they were "chosen" by God. Their first loyalty is to God and one another, and NOT to their constituents. Which is why you don't see these guys resigning, because the only care about POWER.
AlwaysOptimistic
And by the way, members of this secret religious group, The Family, are from both political parties. This is not about republican vs democrat. This is about a group and their desire for power in our government, and to blur the lines between church and state.
When the American public finally understand that the "sexual affairs" of these men are not the issue, but the agenda of this group and their desire for power in the name of God, but done in a secretive manner is what is important.
This group has been operating for decades in Washington, behind the scenes for the most part to promote their agenda which include, seeing God's sovereignty extended to every aspect of governance; complete deregulation of the markets; ending all social programs. They have been accomplishing many of these goals for decades with political leaders of both parties in Congress for the past 70 years.
AlwaysOptimistic
This is from a newspaper article on a democrat from Michigan who lives at C Street but denies knowing anything about The Family, who owns the building.
"Sharlet's book describes The Family as a kind of shadow multi-national government, operating in secret through small prayer groups called "cells" and modeled after the organization of mafia and terrorist groups. Doug Coe, the leader of the group, frequently refers to the leadership lessons of Hitler and the example of the mafia as a model for how the group operates.
How far-reaching is The Family's influence? David Kuo, a high-ranking official in the Bush administration who oversaw the White House's office of faith-based initiatives, wrote in a recent book: "The Fellowship's reach into governments around the world is almost impossible to overstate or even grasp."
FreeDem
C-Street is indeed Bi-Partisan but not in the "equal numbers of Liberals & Conservatives" sense. There are right wing Republicans and right wing "Blue dog" Democrats. As you point out the main point is power used to promote an antidemocratic agenda. They are concerned with Political Ideology far more than party or even religion.
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ccrider27
Republicans are the new 60's Hippies!
Free Love! Party Down!
I have just seen the light and I am joining up with these guys!
Right On!
Picachu
I get your sarcasm, but they are unfortunately not nearly as beneficent as the hippies were. This party is a malignancy on our society.
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rapierwits
There is so much anger and self-righteousness directed at the group of people who are being judged here, that it sounds like the people whom we oppose.
This is a chance to speak out against HYPOCRISY, y'all, this is about more than scoring petty politically-partisan points. This is our opportunity to show that we are better than those who stand against us.
Stand up for honesty and transparency in government and against the false satisfaction of partisanship. This is about more than party, it is about the accountability of our officials to their employers, us!
JohnHedtke
I think you're right, rapierwits. I agree with you about the need to speak out about hypocrisy. The thing is, as Sophia5 pointed out above, it seems to be pretty much just one group that puts themselves in the way of being hypocritical on this issue. I'm not saying that there's more or less cheating depending on the party; I have a feeling that it's pretty much a level playing field there. And in fact, a study showed that Republicans tend to feel less guilt about things and so they even enjoy sex more. But it's only the Republicans who are trying to claim God's law, traditional marriage, family values, and all the other stupid buzzphrases and then jam their viewpoints down everyone else's throat as the only allowable morality that earns them my continuing contempt.
People will cheat on their spouses and try to lie about it when they get caught. This is the way people are and always will be. How one feels about this is up to the individual. It's only when the person who's gotten caught with their pants down is someone who had tried to legislate that everyone should keep their pants up because Ga-wud had said so and they oughta know that it rises to the level of national news.
The Bible was right about treating pious hypocrites with scorn and derision. These guys have wrapped themselves in carefully selected bits of the flag, Christianity, and traditional homespun values to create a fictitious representation of values that supposedly carries moral weight and then sell it to a credulous bunch of idiots. They deserve to be spat upon and sneered at when they're found doing the things that they themselves claimed were so contemptible in their opponents.
Picachu
Well said JohnHedtke.
Thank you.
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