Randall Tobias, a deputy secretary of state and administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "that he must step down" for personal reasons, his department said.

In an interview to be aired on ABC's 20/20 program, Ms Palfrey said she intended to call on Mr Tobias and other prominent clients to testify at her trial.

"I'm sure as heck not going to be going to federal prison for one day, let alone, four to eight years, because I'm shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever," Ms Palfrey told ABC News.

Ms Palfrey insists she ran a legal sexual fantasy business and if any of the women who were working for her had sex, she said they did so in violation of her rules and without her knowledge, the network said.

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