New York Governor Resigns
After Prostitution Ring Scandal, Spitzer Announces Resignation
Two days after allegations that first-term Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was a client of a high-end prostitution ring, he steps down in avoidance of impeachment.
Facing mounting pressure from both political parties and the threat of probable impeachment, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned this morning. The announcement came after federal wiretappings exposed the governor and former attorney general as a frequent client of a high-end prostitution ring, Emperors' Club V.I.P.
The event in question regarded a particularly expensive escort that went by the name of Kristen, her train ride from New York to Washington, D.C., to engage in the, er, business transaction, and the $4,300 Spitzer paid Kristen, including a down payment for future services. Spitzer was known as Client 9 to Emperors' Club V.I.P., and the incident revealed multiple skeletons in that closet -- it turns out that in the last year, Spitzer had invested tens of thousands of dollars in engagements with prostitutes from the club all over the country, including Texas and Florida in addition to D.C., according to anonymous sources to the New York Times.
Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco warned Spitzer Monday that, if he did not resign within 48 hours, Tedisco would push for the governor's impeachment in the Senate. Only 34 Democrats would be needed to attain a majority vote for impeachment.
The whole scenario is one of almost-comical hypocrisy. Spitzer gained his reputation for being a hard-hitting and widely-respected former attorney general who had been called the "Sheriff of Wall Street." As attorney general of New York, Spitzer had a secret weapon against Wall Street top dogs: the 1928 Martin Act, which essentially limits the rights of people being investigated for financial fraud, including the right to counsel or the right against self-incrimination. Thus, Spitzer made a lot of enemies at the same time that he created a squeaky-clean image that got him the governor position in 2006. It's no wonder that people are howling that his demise should be brought about by the very same crimes that he went after with such gusto as attorney general.
And it's even more ironic that Spitzer was caught using the same tactics that he used to acquire evidence when prosecuting fraud as attorney general. He left a very clear digital trail, including e-mails, text messages and phone conversations -- certainly he should have known better!
Federal money-laundering laws specifically state that financial transactions that purposefully "conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of" illegal endeavors are in fact illegal, as Harlan Protass points out in his latest Slate.com article. And Spitzer's monetary contributions to Emperors' Club V.I.P.'s multiple shell companies, by that definition, constitute money laundering.
Then there is the question of the Mann Act, a law enacted by President Taft in 1910 that made it a criminal offense to transport women over state lines with the "intent and purpose to induce, entice or compel" the woman into immoral behavior, specifically prostitution. If Spitzer paid for Kristen's train ticket from New York to Washington, D.C., as the wiretapped conversations imply he did, then he is in direct violation of the Mann Act.
Yes, the prospects are grim for Spitzer. A resignation was the only option.
