TPMMuckraker

Vitter Aide Who Assaulted Girlfriend Resigns

Vitter Aide Who Assaulted Girlfriend Resigns

Brent Furer, the aide to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) who allegedly cut his girlfriend with a knife during a 2008 altercation and has had other run-ins with the law, has resigned after ABC reported on his criminal record, the AP is reporting.

The AP says Vitter “accepted” Furer’s resignation.

The move raises the question of why Vitter would accept Furer’s resignation now after keeping him on payroll for the roughly 30 months since the incident occurred.

Late Update: Vitter spokesman Joel DiGrado tells the AP the senator knew of the assault case but not Furer’s other cases — mostly drunk driving charges. “Senator Vitter accepted the employee’s resignation today after learning of the other incidents.”

However, a reverend connected to Vitter supervised Furer’s community service after a 2003 drunk driving case. ABC reported:

He pleaded guilty to DWI, was placed on probation for one year, and was ordered to serve 32 hours of community service. Papers Furer filed with the court show his service involved painting a New Orleans church, as overseen by the pastor, Rev. Malcolm Richard. Richard also works as one of Sen. Vitter’s regional directors.

Vitter’s office has not responded to calls.

Brent Furer, David Vitter, Louisiana, Republicans

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Senior Associate Editor

Paul Werdel

Associate Editor

Sara Libby

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Carl Franzen

Sahil Kapur

Eric Kleefeld

Eric Lach

Nick Martin

Evan McMorris-Santoro

Ryan J. Reilly

Benjy Sarlin

Front Page Editor

David Taintor

Poll Editor

Kyle Leighton

News Writer

Pema Levy

Video Editor

Michael Lester

Polling Fellow

Tom Kludt

Video Fellow

Clayton Ashley

Research Interns

Michael Brooks

Publishing Intern

Christopher O’Driscoll

Miles Read

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Mary Cadwallader

Bob Edmunds

Bruce Ellerstein

Waldo Tibbetts

Manager, Ad Operations and Sales Support

Versha Sharma

Deputy Publisher

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Technology

Eric Buth

Designer/Developer

Ni Mu

Matthew Wozniak

Tech Fellow

Dennis Cahillane