The "Herald" published a story on May 3 that Hart had spent Friday night and most of Saturday with a young woman in his Washington, D.C. townhouse. On that same day, in an interview with E. J. Dionne that appeared in the "New York Times", Hart, responding to the rumors of his womanizing, said: "Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They'll be very bored." At some point the reporters for the "Herald" learned that the "New York Times" was planning to feature the quote in their article on Sunday. When the two articles appeared on the same day a political firestorm was ignited. On Sunday, Hart's campaign denied any scandal and condemned the "Herald"s reporters for intrusive reporting. Hart later noted that his "follow me around" comment was not "challenging the press with a taunt", but, made in frustration, was only intended to invite the media to observe his public behavior, and never intended to invite reporters to be "skulking around in the shadows" of his home. '"He did not think of it as a challenge," Dionne would recall many years later. "And at the time, I did not think of it as a challenge."' Nor did Hart's comment influence the "Miami Herald" to pursue the story.