WASHINGTON - MS JESSICA Cutler, the former Senate aide whose online sex diary landed her a book deal and a Playboy photo spread but got her kicked off Capitol Hill, has filed for bankruptcy.

Ms Cutler, a former aide to ex-Republican senator Mike DeWine, created the 'Washingtonienne' blog in 2004 and began posting racy details about her sex life with six men, including a Senate colleague and 'a few generous older gentlemen' who she said paid many of her living expenses.

When the blog was discovered, Ms Cutler was fired. She moved to New York, wrote a novel based on the scandal, posed naked and started a new website that describes herself as 'a published author who jumps out of cakes for money'. She has spent much of her time fending off a lawsuit by ex-boyfriend and fellow DeWine staffer Robert Steinbuch.

Ms Cutler wrote about their sexual encounters on her blog, among her other male conquests. While she used Mr Steinbuch's initials, he says she provided enough information to make him identifiable and is seeking more than US$20 million (S$31 million) in damages.

However, in court documents filed last Thursday, Ms Cutler says she cannot even pay her American Express bill, legal fees or student loans. She submitted to the judge a copy of a bankruptcy petition filed in New York last Wednesday.

The lawsuit is being watched closely by online privacy groups and bloggers because the case could help establish whether people who keep online diaries are obliged to protect the privacy of the people they interact with offline.

'A lot of this is pushing the boundary of the law,' Professor Daniel Solove of George Washington University Law School told The Hartford Courant. 'How do we balance privacy and free speech?'

AP