In 1989, Washington Times reported about the federal authorities investigating criminal aspects in a prostitution ring. This was the biggest scandal in the history of the U.S. history. The story received some newspaper coverage but there was a blackout on American news media on the subject. For this reason, most Americans have never heard of it. One of the ring's clients arranged a middle-of-the-night tour of the White House for friends and two male prostitutes were part of the six persons. Credit card vouchers were found that were made payable to the escort service and they were tun through a 'sub-merchant' account of the Chambers Funeral Home. It was done by a son of the owner, without the company knowing. Many of the clients not only Reagan and Bush administration officials, but also government officials, locally based U.S. military officers, businessmen, lawyers, bankers, congressional aides, and other 'professionals.'Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat and one of two openly gay members of Congress, who threatened to reveal a list of Republican homosexuals in Congress, said he was 'not surprised' by the revelations. He has also been known to say in 1996, "I'm used to being in the minority. I'm a left-handed gay Jew. I've never felt, automatically, a member of any majority." The New York Times reported in 1990 that the House Ethics Committee recommended "that Representative Barney Frank receive a formal reprimand from the House for his relationship with a male prostitute." But it failed. Frank said, "there's an impression that there aren't any Republicans. . . . This is the proof of the prejudice in our community."
According to the Washington Times, Paul R. Balach, a top Labor Department adviser to Secretary Elizabeth Dole resigned yesterday after acknowledging to them that he had procured male prostitutes and was subjected to blackmail threats by one of the call boys. Balach said in an interview, he was told by the department's solicitor, Robert Davis, he must either resign or be fired. He said he was not allowed to talk to Mrs. Dole about the matter."The Washington Times story is a rank attempt to sensationalize a fact that should come as no surprise to anybody: that there are gay people in the Republican Party and in this Republican administration," the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force said in a statement. "The story The Times does not tell is the story of the repression and fear that still mars the lives of gay individuals in politics."
A child prostitution ring was rumored and then dubbed 'Franklin Coverup Hoax.' In July, 1990, a county grand jury in Nebraska's Douglas County concluded that the charges were a "carefully crafted hoax", although they failed to identify the perpetrators of said hoax. In 1993, Yorkshire Television, a British-based Television channel sent a team to Nebraska to launch its own investigation of the Franklin case. Yorkshire had a contract with the Discovery Channel to produce a documentary on the case for American television. The documentary, titled "Conspiracy of Silence," was to air nationwide on May 3, 1994. It was advertised in the TV Guide and in newspapers for that day. But at the last minute, and without explanation, it was pulled from the air. It was not shown then, and has never been broadcast since.
