Breaking New York State News (Updated x2)
[Guest post by DRJ]
According to the New York Times, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has told his senior aides he is involved in a prostitution ring:
“Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.”
The Times’ article adds these details:
“Just last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with an expensive prostitution operation. Administration officials would not say that this was the ring with which the governor had become involved. But a person with knowledge of the governor’s role said that the person believes the governor is one of the men identified as clients in court papers.
The governor’s travel records show that he was in Washington in mid-February. One of the clients described in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, the Emperors Club VIP on the night of Feb. 13.
Mr. Spitzer appeared on a CNBC television show at 7 a.m. the next morning. Later in the morning, he testified before a Congressional committee.”
Spitzer, a former New York Attorney General, ran for Governor by pledging to “bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany.” He is expected to issue a statement today.
Perhaps Glenn Greenwald should consider adding a few Democrats to his newest book, Great American Hypocrites. Gov. Spitzer might be available for the book tour.
UPDATE 1: Rumors abound that Spitzer will resign. Beldar weighs in here.
UPDATE 2: A suggested resignation speech from XRLQ.
— DRJ
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: DRJ suggested that Glenn Greenwald might actually be put out by Eliot Spitzer’s amazing hypocrisy in denouncing prostitution even as he sought out prostitutes.
OK, she didn’t really believe Greenwald would care about Spitzer’s hypocrisy. And, as it turns out, he does not. Spitzer’s hypocrisy is merely an inconvenient fact that Greenwald knows he must acknowledge — so he can move on to the real point, which is that what he did isn’t that bad, that the prosecution seems political, etc.
I’m sure Ellensburg would react the same way if it were a conservative who had been caught.
Jeez, what a hack that guy is.
According to Fox, he’s going to resign. He’s coming to the podium shortly.
Pablo (99243e) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:10 amIt must be bad if he’s resigning immediately. I admit, I was really surprised by this and I’m sad for his family.
DRJ (a431ca) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:13 amWell, they whiffed on the resignation, but they’re suggesting he may have been indicted in a NY court.
Pablo (99243e) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:21 amApparently the indictment has handed down feb 7th. How much you wanna bet that it’d have been page one news a month ago if he were a republican.
Taltos (4dc0e8) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:26 amDRJ — I was hoping to get this up first. Arrrrgh.
WLS (68fd1f) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:34 amit’s a testament to my attitude these days that until i got to the word “clients” in your post, i had maintained an utterly open mind as to whether he was a client, an operator or a service provider.
assistant devil's advocate (10791e) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:34 amHmmmm….I wonder if said pro is an undocumented immigrant who has no driver’s license.
L.N. Smithee (0931d2) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:37 amSomewhere, Martha Stewart is laughing her ass off.
Techie (ed20d9) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:48 amPerhaps he was only doing some research.
Old Coot (7ed4fa) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:49 amI do hope he steps down and saves his family further humiliation. Too frequently people in high places who behave badly really believe they are indespensable and more often than not, refuse to step down. Perhaps he will be thinking more of his family than himself now.
Dana (b4a26c) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:52 amWhat an asshole. I really have little respect for someone that screws over their own supporters for just a little poontang.
Still, this seems like a personal matter. Just as Larry Craig and David Vitter should not have been persecuted for their sexual choices, Spitzer should not have to resign in a perfect world. Prostitution should not be illegal anyway.
Of course, the hypocrisy is pretty rank. I think he’s probably finished.
Russell (5ecf4a) — 3/10/2008 @ 11:54 amSpitzer is and has been a law enforcement guy. He’s prosecuted prostitution. He knows better than this, and he’s fully aware of the consequences.
As for the resignation, it seems there’s a process that needs to happen and that it is going to happen as the day progresses. Stick a fork in him, he’s done.
Pablo (99243e) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:02 pmThis guy was taking on some serious money as Attorney General. I’m surprised those places didn’t dig this up. Maybe it is recent.
stef (861715) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:04 pm“Involved in a prostitution ring” makes it sound like something more than patronizing prostitutes. As in, involved in facilitating the transfer of funds across state lines for illegal purposes. Or providing protection to illegal enterprise.
I know Spitzer reads this blog, so you might want to get a whole bunch of clarifications deployed in a hurry, Governor.
Glen Wishard (02562c) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:12 pmHannity is saying Spitzer is a superdelegate supporting Hillary.
Patterico (1cdb1e) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:30 pmMartha Stewart isn’t the only one laughing. “Did he lie to the FBI?” may be the important question. (Well, “can he drag it out so that he remains a super-delegate” might be another.)
I know that I’ll feel sorry for his family later, but right now, laughter.
htom (412a17) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:32 pmWLS,
Please post on it — this was a limited “breaking news” post. But if you want to beat me in the future, you need to live a mile from where you work so you can go home quick and post like me.
DRJ (8b9d41) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:33 pmAs attorney general, he also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.
In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.
“This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”
They must have given him bad service or maybe stolen his wallet.
nk (5ce644) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:39 pmYou would never know party this guy was with from these media reports.
gabriel (6d7447) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:41 pm“Kristen” spoke with a Emperors Club booker, who said that she had been told that Client-9 “would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe…” “Kristen” responded by saying, essentially, that she could handle guys like that.
Smoking Gun has it. I fail at linking so I’ll just post the address:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0310082spitzer1.html
j curtis (c84b9e) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:44 pm“Did you know the governor consorted with prostitutes?”
“Oh, yes, he deals with the Legislature every day.”
Steverino (e00589) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:48 pmCouldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
PatAZ (56a0a8) — 3/10/2008 @ 12:52 pmHannity is saying Spitzer is a superdelegate supporting Hillary.
No doubt because she is a New York senator. All Democrats in the state’s Congressional delegation are Clinton superdelegates.
The Lt. Governor, who is legally blind, is unable to discern the race of people around him.
steve (ebf73c) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:05 pmCouldn’t agree more with DRJ’s OP….the guy is scum I feel terrible for his poor wife—just look at her face in the picture.
driver (faae10) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:07 pmSorry, here’s the link to the picture:
driver (faae10) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:08 pmhttp://www.amusedcynic.com/?p=677
I’ve noticed that many of the articles from the major news sources (AP, NY Times, LA Times) fail to mention Spitzer’s political affiliation anywhere in the story. I can’t imagine they would show the same restraint if this had happened to, say, Charlie Crist.
Chaz (36e9f0) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:10 pmI doubt he’ll resign unless pushed.
His ability both to protect himself and plea deal would drop to ~0 if he resigned.
jim2 (6482d8) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:18 pmAfter reading the Smoking Gun Blog, I feel sadness to his wife and children. The Scorn and ridicule they will be exposed to will be foreever debasing.Mr.Spitzer is a piece of shit that has no business being Governor- he willfully acted to avoid being caught-throw the book at him.
mike191 (2af201) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:22 pmAnybody want to play “find the democrat” in various news articles on this subject. Its easy, just use your browser’s search feature, and enter in “democrat” and find where the article mentions his affiliation. The new york times article lists it once. Though, the majority of news articles listed on the drudge report, (mainly AP,) omit party affiliation. I always tend to look for party affiliations in scandals. (Note, WSJ article I read failed to mention Spitzer’s party affiliation)
Then go look at some articles on Senator Craig, search for republican…
G (722480) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:24 pm“Anybody want to play “find the democrat” in various news articles on this subject. ”
DRJ mentions Spitzer’s party affiliation only at the end.
stef (3e4136) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:31 pmOh the fun of watching club members rise on a rocket to the heavens and flail as their flaming jets dive into the ground!
Read all the fun links as well
More from an esteemed classmate
Caught a comment, Spitzer, dedicated to clean up prostitutes of NY, one or maybe two at a time!
His Bride, or might that be soon to be X-Bride sure don’t look too happy. She should have let him stand there alone.
Lest we not forget he is a Democrat, and an Attorney! Just another shining example of morals and ethics from the club? Yeah. 🙂
TC (1cf350) — 3/10/2008 @ 1:59 pmIndeed.
Pablo (99243e) — 3/10/2008 @ 2:02 pmToday’s going to be gangbusters business in Manhattan for fancy restaurants and wine merchants. Lotta celebrating I bet.
gp (fbca9b) — 3/10/2008 @ 2:16 pmStef,
I’m specifically talking about articles, not blog entries, especially on a political site, where its more common that people know party affiliation on “big” time politicians.
G (722480) — 3/10/2008 @ 2:18 pmAnybody find it odd that the Client 9 incident occurred on Valentines Day? Its probably more of a coincidence.
G (722480) — 3/10/2008 @ 2:20 pmOne hell of a party for all those Wall Street guys who got “perp-walked” by Elliot.
Couldn’t be happening to a nicer guy!
Another Drew (f9dd2c) — 3/10/2008 @ 2:30 pmI read the affidavit at The Smoking Gun. This guy did not merely patronize a prostitute. He was involved in money laundering — more than $4,000.00 in cash to a fake business just for this transaction. Ace wonders about blackmail. Me too. $4,000.00 for a two-hour sexual encounter?
nk (5ce644) — 3/10/2008 @ 2:44 pmNo, he didn’t say he was going to clean up the prostitutes of NY. He said he would bring prostitutes to their knees.
Steverino (2c9e20) — 3/10/2008 @ 3:13 pmHere’s what I understood based on reading the Smoking Gun document:
This is from memory based on one reading, so I may have missed or misinterpreted something. Feel free to correct or amplify. Of course, this also assumes the Smoking Gun document is true and correct.
If this is correct, I can see the potential for blackmail in this scenario although it doesn’t sound like he was actually being blackmailed. Is this also money laundering as others have suggested? I don’t know enough about that to say.
DRJ (a431ca) — 3/10/2008 @ 3:21 pmTechnically, a decrease in ethics is still a type of refrom… 🙂
Scott Jacobs (d3a6ec) — 3/10/2008 @ 3:29 pmThe more I think about this, in addition to potential criminal charges, I think there are two aspects that will be difficult to deal with politically:
The part that bothers me isn’t whether he’s a Democrat or a Republican, or that he’s a Governor, or even that he’s someone who ran on a campaign based on ethics and crime. What bothers me is that he’s a former Attorney General. He not only knew better than the average person, he should have acted better than the average person.
DRJ (a431ca) — 3/10/2008 @ 3:41 pmFrom Fox News:
It sounded like Spitzer was only at the 3-diamond level. I don’t know if that’s good news or bad news.
EDIT: They have a website? That’s pretty blatant.
DRJ (a431ca) — 3/10/2008 @ 3:50 pmBelieve it or not, this was a trivia question in an actual trivia contest at the place where I had dinner tonight (wife’s working evenings this week). It’s the 0only question I wouldn’t have been able to answer, and that only because I’ve been ignoring the news all day today.
Wow.
McGehee (25adee) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:18 pmyup,
paul from fl (47918a) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:19 pmVote Democrat.
There really seems to be a pattern here.
Will someone step-up early on in these proceedings and define esoteric terms like…
… “is”?
yeeeesssh
Get a load of the name the shell company used for The Emperor’s Club for the transfer of cash: QAT Consulting.
What’s even nuttier than that is the shell company’s website is, as I type, STILL UP AND RUNNING. Get a load of the text of the home page:
From financial poiint (sic) of view we specialize in all legal ways in arranging suitable and lawful USA offshore structuring both for your business and your private affairs. As our client, you will be protected with “attorney- client privilege of information”, as defined and secured by the Law of the United States—your privacy is strictly yours and your business/tax affairs will always remain yours private matters.
(snip)
From design point of view we will assist you in designing your office, website and etc., applying feng shui principles that should enhace your profit capability.
As Dave Barry says, I am NOT making this up, and neither is anybody else. A WHOIS check on Network Solutions.com, reveals it is indeed registered to the indicted madame “Cecil Suwal,” registered nearly three years.
L.N. Smithee (e1f2bf) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:25 pmBy MSM reasoning, it is not newsworthy to point out the affiliation of a Democrat in these circumstances, because Democrats are assumed to be somehow tolerant of moral depravity. They would not assert that Democrats are in favor of moral depravity, but neither are they exactly opposed to it, so they are permanently immune to any charge of hypocrisy.
Republicans must invariably be identified, however, because they are automatically hypocrites and hypocrisy is considered news.
Glen Wishard (02562c) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:26 pmLN Smithee,
This is curiouser and curiouser. I bet they did this for tax purposes, either to avoid taxes or to pay them and prevent Al Capone’s problems. It seems like an elaborate system. If they had expert assistance, and it would seem they had to, I wonder what they told the attorneys and accountants who set all this up?
DRJ (a431ca) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:29 pmPlease forgive the punctuation errors. I wanted to post that link while it was still operational.
L.N. Smithee (e1f2bf) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:33 pmhttp://yirmiyahu.blogspot.com/2008/03/client-9.html
sjc (18e612) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:35 pmGlen Wishard wrote: By MSM reasoning, it is not newsworthy to point out the affiliation of a Democrat in these circumstances, because Democrats are assumed to be somehow tolerant of moral depravity.
This was more than simple “moral depravity.” Spitzer built a reputation as a trust-busting law-and-order type who wasn’t afraid of taking on any target regardless of how deep their pockets were. Yet, here he is, caught less than a month ago allegedly making elaborate plans to evade the legal scrutiny that he has focused unrelentingly on others.
This is something that I would expect out of, say, the Oakland (CA) Police Department, where there have been allegations in recent years of rogue cops protecting streetwalkers as long as they put out on demand. But the Governor of The Most Important State in the Union? It’s been a long time since Tammany Hall — you would think that in the 21st Century, the process would weed guys like that out.
Apparently not.
So…is anybody going to put a microphone in Larry Flynt’s fat drooling mug and ask if he knew about this and was keeping his lip zipped because Spitzer has a “D” and not an “R” next to his name? (Don’t worry — I won’t hold my breath waiting for an answer.)
L.N. Smithee (d1de1b) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:48 pmMaybe Spitzer will, in the spirit of Jim McGreevey, hold a press conference and say, “I AM A JOHN AMERICAN.”
L.N. Smithee (d1de1b) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:55 pmABC News says he’s likely to be charged with “structuring” — less than $10k transactions with banks designed to avoid their $10k+ cash reporting requirements.
My guess is that by today’s press conference, he’d reached plea deal that requires his resignation, but the deal hadn’t been fully documented. With the NYT about to blow the whistle, he had to say something. Other sources are reporting that he’ll resign tonight. That would be about the time it would take to wrap up a written plea agreement.
Maybe WLS or someone can tell us whether “structuring,” first offense and with cooperation and plea, might result in a no-time recommendation and sentence under the guidelines. That’s my guess, anyway. My other observations (sorry to link-whore, Patterico & DRJ) are here.
Beldar (433d17) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:56 pmXrlq has obtained an advance copy of
nk (5ce644) — 3/10/2008 @ 4:58 pmclient # 9’sSpitzer’s resignation speech. (Hey, Schadefreude is stil freude.)From the QAT group website:
Heh.
See-Dubya (0aa657) — 3/10/2008 @ 5:01 pmSmithee #51: Bingo.
NK: Schadenfreude isn’t just “still Freude,” it’s the best kind. It sounds better in the original German, though: Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude.
Xrlq (62cad4) — 3/10/2008 @ 5:16 pmStephen Green had a good line on this one. You’ll have to go to Vodkapundit to see it as I won’t copy it on to Patterico’s fine family blog. 😉
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/10/2008 @ 5:31 pmSpitzer ain’t resigning. If anything he will be even more popular. Dems LOVE this stuff, just ask Bill Clinton.
He’ll get a pass from the Press, charges will be dropped, and he’ll go on his merry way.
Having sex with a $5,000 hooker on Valentine’s Day? Come on people, this is vote-getting gold!
Jim Rockford (e09923) — 3/10/2008 @ 5:34 pmOy. Bush’s fault – again…
From Kos: “But I have a very discerning internal alarm. and that alarm tells me that this story only hit the news because the NSA, or the FBI…was snooping on this guy because he is so on the record as a trust buster and corporate cop.
Mark my words…this has the Bush Administration’s fingerprints all over it…and if the MSM digs a little deeper, they will find what Congress is afraid to look for…evidence that Bush’s wiretap program has less to do with terrorists than it has to do with political foes”
But of course.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/10/185251/010/127/473813
Dana (582893) — 3/10/2008 @ 5:44 pmXrlq;
You need to fix this line.
“It was inexcusable. But damn, it was worth every penny I paid for it.”
to; …it was worth every penny of taxpayer dollars contributed for it.
Improvement? 🙂
TC (1cf350) — 3/10/2008 @ 5:44 pmMy God Dana…
They really are quite insane, aren’t they?
Scott Jacobs (d3a6ec) — 3/10/2008 @ 6:05 pmHe cannot claim this is a personal matter. We should be asking who knew about his indiscretions,
afaceinthecrowd (5d078e) — 3/10/2008 @ 6:44 pmhow long they have have known, and what favors they tried to extract from the governor before this became public.
The same questions that were never answered in the Clinton/Lewinski/Goldstein affair.
Dana, the nutjobs can’t read the news. His bank evidently reported his suspicious cash transfers.
Meanwhile, Ace is having some fun.
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/10/2008 @ 6:59 pmSPQR replied to Dana: Dana, the nutjobs can’t read the news. His bank evidently reported his suspicious cash transfers.
Oh, they can read it. They just choose not to believe it. They have a talent for denial.
That’s why they can’t admit the surge improved conditions in Iraq. That’s why Gloria Steinem wrote an editorial in the New York Times saying that Bill Clinton was entitled to one “clumsy pass” at Paula Jones before he could be branded a sexual harasser. That’s why there are still hardcore believers in the purity of indicted hefty uber-lefty talkhost Bernie Ward, and they blame the Bushies for the federal charges of transmitting child porn even though Ward doesn’t deny doing it.
That’s why Barack Obama is thought to be qualified to be President of anything other than the Harvard Law Review.
More than a few on the right side have strong denial powers too, but not nearly as bad.
L.N. Smithee (da3035) — 3/10/2008 @ 7:46 pmIf you find and recover all of the diamonds before the hour is up, do you get to keep them?
Glen Wishard (02562c) — 3/10/2008 @ 7:48 pmIf I had a talk show, I would be asking all the guys in my listening audience the following question: In your entire lifetime, married, single, adulterous, whatever — have you EVER had a romantic interlude that you would say was worth upwards of $3000-5000 to experience again?
L.N. Smithee (da3035) — 3/10/2008 @ 8:02 pmFor the record, my answer is NO!
I’m with you, L.N. I love sex as much as the next guy, but there’s nothing a woman can do to me in an hour that’s worth $3000.
For that kind of money, I can take an enthusiastic amateur to The Bahamas for a week and get a lot more than an hour’s worth of sex.
Steverino (2c9e20) — 3/10/2008 @ 9:11 pmAnother proud example of your tax dollars at work! 🙂
TC (1cf350) — 3/11/2008 @ 1:13 amL.N. Smithee #65, Steverino #66:
I can only quote Omar the Tentmaker:
“I wonder often what the Vintners buy
nk (5ce644) — 3/11/2008 @ 10:05 amOne half so precious as the stuff they sell.”