|
National Politics
First and foremost, if you were wondering what awful headline pun the always sensitive and classy New York Post would produce for the Eliot Spitzer/prostitution scandal, have a gander:   Honorable mentions from Jonathan Martin's blog at Politico go to: "Guv Potion No. 9" "Eliot Phones Hoes" But, moving on... Gov. Spitzer still has yet to make his intentions known as to whether or not he will resign the Governor's office. Since the story broke, rumors have abounded that he would get out quickly, either at his mid-day press conference or by some point yesterday evening. That, obviously, has yet to occur. But, it's not for the pressure that's been brought to bear on him. In editorials today, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the Albany Times-Union, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and Newsday have all called for Spitzer to resign if he can not or does not immediately deny the charges made against him. A denial at this point, considering Spitzer's statement yesterday, would seem out of the question. Several news sources are still reporting that Spitzer is expected to resign soon, but continue to speculate as to exactly when this will actually happen. Newsday has this story: Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco said he and other legislative leaders had received telephone calls from Lt. Gov. David Paterson that Tedisco took as indicating a resignation from Gov. Eliot Spitzer was in the offing. Tedisco has also vowed that if Spitzer doesn't resign soon, he will pursue impeachment proceedings against him. And finally, the Spitzer saga has a Chicago connection: The federal investigation into a prostitution ring that reportedly has ensnared New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer also uncovered an alleged encounter between a prostitute and an unnamed client in Chicago, court documents show. While it is widely believed, but not officially confirmed, that Eliot Spitzer is "Client #9" in the aforementioned court documents, there is no speculation as to the identity of "Client #10". UPDATE: 12:30pm This, while undoubtedly coincidental, is still a tad bit spooky:  On the left is former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who resigned from office after he was exposed to have engaged in a adulterous homosexual affair, and his wife. Spitzer and his wife are, as you know, on the right. Both photos were taken at the respective Governor's press conferences to address their individual scandals. Expect a Brooks Brothers "Scandal wear" line to be out in the fall... UPDATE: 4:15pm The New York Post is reporting that while Eliot Spitzer was building his crusading, corruption fighting reputation as New York's Attorney General over the last several years, he was patronizing prostitutes: Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been soliciting high-priced hookers for at least six years and possibly for more than a decade, sources tell The Post. ... It deserves added emphasis that this information is from unconfirmed, anonymous sources. Not that I'm casting aspersions at the New York Post, but given their gossipy, tabloid nature, who knows who their sources are. Take it with a grain of salt. UPDATE: 4:30pm Again, this is all unconfirmed and this same source has now twice been wrong on this same speculation, but this reasoning behind the delaying of Spitzer's resignation makes complete sense: Gov. Eliot Spitzer is set to resign Wednesday, sources tell CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer, but insiders say he's going to use the resignation as a bargaining chip to cut a deal with federal prosecutors and he won't step down until that happens. The talks have been going on since Tuesday morning. Considering all the incorrect predictions as to if and when Spitzer will resign, you should again break out the salt shaker. UPDATE: 6:15pm A bit of speculation on this story: Spitzer built his corruption busting, crusading reputation going after some of the biggest players on Wall Street and New York's financial district. Those who have been in caught Spitzer's sights include numerous investment banks (Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg), former New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso, and American International Group CEO Hank Greenberg among others. A side note: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan employed similar methods to Spitzer in going after Chicago-based insurance companies. This led to substantial out-of-court settlements to the tune of $27 million. We've learned that the impetus of this investigation was Spitzer's own bank reporting him to the IRS for what they saw as unusual and suspicious. The original thought was Spitzer was potentially the victim of blackmail or was accepting bribes. The investigation has evolved into the story we now know. Something to ponder: what are the chances that someone at the bank that reported Spitzer was someone who was or was once involved with someone who Spitzer had gone after in his anti-corruption crusades? Again, it's just speculation, but it's certainly something to consider. UPDATE: 7:20pm Reports have Spitzer running up quite the tab on high-cost prostitutes: The Associated Press, quoting unnamed law enforcement officials, said Spitzer's running tab for the trysts could have been as high as $80,000. Filed Under: National Politics E-mail this article to a friend | Printer friendly format |
Countdown to Election Day
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
