US Congress' dirty little secret

The 535 members of the US Congress have had an unusual pornography problem for more than three decades.

Since 1983, Hustler founder Larry Flynt has provided free subscriptions of his pornographic publication to each and every politician, the National Journal reported on Friday.

The magazine arrives each month in a plain envelope with the rest of the mail, which is then opened by assistants or interns, some of whom are not always prepared to find themselves confronted with a hardcore porn magazine.

"I 'forget' to mention it to interns and wait to watch the look of horror on their face when they open it in a congressional office," one staffer told the magazine.

Members of Congress tried to block delivery of the magazine in 1984, but federal court ruled that Flynt had a constitutional right to petition the government.

For his part, Flynt told the Hill newspaper in 2011: "Moses freed the Jews, Lincoln freed the slaves, and I just wanted to free all the neurotics," according to the article.