In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Links: Eliot Spitzer to resign
Key Player: Lt. Gov. David Paterson
Reactions: The public's response
Background: 2007, Spitzer’s difficult year
Biography: Eliot Spitzer (1959–)
Related Topics: Other scandals and the cost of not resigning
Reference: FBI complaint, press release and the Mann Act
Subscribe to Politics Updates
Eliot Spitzer Resigns
March 12, 2008 10:55 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Gov. Spitzer announced his resignation today, saying, "I believe ... that people regardless of their position or power take responsibility for their conduct."
Email This30-Second Summary
With his wife Silda beside him, Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation as governor at a New York City news conference just before noon today. Spitzer said, "I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the peoples' work."
To streamline the transition of power, Spitzer said that he would officially hand over the position of governor to Liutenant Gov. David Patterson on Monday, March 17.
Spitzer first addressed accusations that he had solicited a prostitute during a March 10 press conference in which he said, "I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family.” He added, “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, to whom I promised better.”
An FBI wiretap recorded a person arranging a liaison with a prostitution ring last month in a Washington, D.C. hotel. The transcript of the conversation formed part of the complaint in a federal indictment of four members of the prostitution ring. Several media reports alleged the client was Eliot Spitzer, and the prostitute was affiliated with The Emperor's Club, whose supposed organizers were arrrested last Thursday.
ABC News wrote that the investigation started when Sptizer's bank reported a suspicious series of wire transfers from Spitzer to an assumed name of the prostitution ring. Federal law requires U.S. citizens to report all currency transfers in excess of $10,000, and makes it illegal to engage in "Structuring," which occurs when a series of payments is made to avoid the reporting requirements. Banks are required to report such a series of payments to the IRS.
As New York State Attorney General, Spitzer made a career out of stamping out corruption, building a reputation as a modern-day crimefighter.
Throughout his troubled tenure as governor, Spitzer had clashed with Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. In one infamous incident, New York State Troopers monitored Bruno’s movements, at the request of Spitzer's staff.
David Paterson will become governor for the remaining 33 months of Spitzer's term.
Spitzer is the third governor in the Tri-State region to resign this decade, following New Jersey's Jim McGreevey and Connecticut's John Rowland, both of whom stepped down after scandals in 2004.
A pressing question for Democrats was whether Spitzer should have resigned for the good of the party. George Ryan of Illinois finished his second term as governor of Illinois in 2002 despite a corruption scandal that eventually led to his post-term indictment and conviction. Bob Taft finished his term as governor of Ohio in 2006 despite a cloud of ethics violations.
In both cases, the governor's party lost the next gubernatorial election, while in the cases of both McGreevey and Rowland, their party retained the governor's office in the special subsequent election
Watch AP coverage
To streamline the transition of power, Spitzer said that he would officially hand over the position of governor to Liutenant Gov. David Patterson on Monday, March 17.
Spitzer first addressed accusations that he had solicited a prostitute during a March 10 press conference in which he said, "I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family.” He added, “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, to whom I promised better.”
An FBI wiretap recorded a person arranging a liaison with a prostitution ring last month in a Washington, D.C. hotel. The transcript of the conversation formed part of the complaint in a federal indictment of four members of the prostitution ring. Several media reports alleged the client was Eliot Spitzer, and the prostitute was affiliated with The Emperor's Club, whose supposed organizers were arrrested last Thursday.
ABC News wrote that the investigation started when Sptizer's bank reported a suspicious series of wire transfers from Spitzer to an assumed name of the prostitution ring. Federal law requires U.S. citizens to report all currency transfers in excess of $10,000, and makes it illegal to engage in "Structuring," which occurs when a series of payments is made to avoid the reporting requirements. Banks are required to report such a series of payments to the IRS.
As New York State Attorney General, Spitzer made a career out of stamping out corruption, building a reputation as a modern-day crimefighter.
Throughout his troubled tenure as governor, Spitzer had clashed with Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. In one infamous incident, New York State Troopers monitored Bruno’s movements, at the request of Spitzer's staff.
David Paterson will become governor for the remaining 33 months of Spitzer's term.
Spitzer is the third governor in the Tri-State region to resign this decade, following New Jersey's Jim McGreevey and Connecticut's John Rowland, both of whom stepped down after scandals in 2004.
A pressing question for Democrats was whether Spitzer should have resigned for the good of the party. George Ryan of Illinois finished his second term as governor of Illinois in 2002 despite a corruption scandal that eventually led to his post-term indictment and conviction. Bob Taft finished his term as governor of Ohio in 2006 despite a cloud of ethics violations.
In both cases, the governor's party lost the next gubernatorial election, while in the cases of both McGreevey and Rowland, their party retained the governor's office in the special subsequent election
Watch AP coverage
Headline Links: Eliot Spitzer to resign
"I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me," Eliot Spitzer declared during his resignation speech today. “I will try once again outside of politics to serve the common good."
Source: CNN
A March 12, 2008, article from ABC News indicates that Elliot Spitzer will resign today. Spitzer drafted a resignation letter yesterday and it is believed that he will submit the letter this morning, less than 48 hours after the story leaked.
Source: ABC News
A WNBC/Marist College poll found that 70 percent of New York, “including 65 percent of Democrats,” think Elliot Spitzer should resign as governor of New York. “And if Spitzer doesn't step down, 66 percent of all voters, including 57 percent of Democrats, say the governor should be impeached,” according to the New York Post.
Source: New York Post
The New York Times broke the story Monday afternoon. Last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with a prostitution operation known as the “Emperor’s Club.” Although administration officials would not say if this was the same ring Spitzer was involved with, a source said that “the governor is one of the men identified as clients in court papers,” according to The New York Times. Spitzer is scheduled to make a public announcement about the allegations this afternoon.
Source: The New York Times
At the press conference Monday afternoon, Spitzer simply read his prepared statement, did not offer any specifics, and refrained from answering questions.
Source: Official Web Site of the New York State Governor
The New York Post blog reported that “Feds last week busted a diamond-studded international call-girl ring that offered well-heeled johns ‘fashion models, pageant winners and exquisite students’ for up to $5,500 an hour—after one of the prostitutes turned on her pimp."
Source: The New York Post blog
“Federal authorities arrested four people Thursday on charges of running an online prostitution ring that serviced clients in New York, Paris and other cities and took in more than $1 million in profits over four years,” reported The New York Times.
Source: The New York Times
ABC News is reporting that the investigation started when Sptizer's bank reported a suspicious series of wire transfers from Spitzer to an assumed name of the prostitution ring.
Source: ABC News
Federal law requires U.S. citizens to report all currency transfers in excess of $10,000, and makes it illegal to engage in "Structuring," which occurs when a series of payments is made to avoid the reporting requirements. Banks are required to report such a series of payments to the IRS.
Source: Internal Revenue Service
Key Player: Lt. Gov. David Paterson
A Feb. 12, 2006, feature in The New York Observer, titled “Spitzer’s Mate David Paterson is a Mystery Man,” writes, “Mr. Spitzer selected a man described as 'a living contradiction' by one longtime associate.” The highly intelligent and personable Paterson comes from a family deeply involved with Harlem politics and grew up nearly blind.
Source: The New York Observer
The Gothamist reports on who would succeed Spitzer were he to resign: “If Spitzer resigns, Lt. Gov. David Paterson is next in line (there was some talk of him running for Senate if Hillary Clinton were elected president), and after that, it's the Senate Majority Leader (Joe Bruno) and then the Assembly Speaker."
Source: The Gothamist
According to Section 5 of Article IV of The Constitution of the State of New York, "In the case of the removal of the governor from office or of his death or resignation, the lieutenant-governor shall become governor for the remainder of the term." The constitution is available online as a PDF.
Source: Department of State
Reactions: The public's response
New Yorkers have been swift to respond to the news. One post on The New York Times' blog argues that since Sen. Larry Craig didn't resign after he was arrested for soliciting for sex in a toilet, Spitzer shouldn't either. Another respondent writes, "Not good enough. I agree that politics isn’t about individuals (I suppose by this he means that people’s sex lives aren’t really relevant to their political usefulness.) But HE BROKE THE LAW."
Source: The New York Times' City Room blog
Background: 2007, Spitzer’s difficult year
Spitzer backs down
In October, Spitzer’s intention to permit illegal immigrants to qualify for driver’s licenses faced objections that it would endanger national security and increase voter fraud. The policy was eventually dropped.
Source: findingDulcinea
In November, The New York Times reported that the governor had abandoned plans for broader access to driver’s licenses, a retreat that was widely represented as his first admission of failure. The Times wrote that he also struck some “familiarly pugilistic notes, lashing into critics who, Mr. Spitzer said, ‘equated minimum-wage undocumented dishwashers with Osama bin Laden.’”
Source: The New York Times
Soon after his reversal over driver’s licenses, the governor also backed away from plans to impose a sales tax on online retailers, as detailed by Publishers Weekly.
Source: Publishers Weekly
Troopergate
The New York Times has a roundup of stories on Spitzer, including an interactive timeline for the Spitzer versus Bruno spat. The row, which became known as Troopergate, arose when Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno claimed that state troopers were monitoring his movements on orders from Spitzer’s office. That allegation was confirmed by an investigation conducted by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The incident is cited by many commentators as the start of the governor’s troubles in office.
Source: The New York Times
The ‘steamroller’
In February 2007, The New York Post reported on Gov. Spitzer’s alleged declaration that he was “a f-----g steamroller” in a story titled “Full Steam Ahead for Spunky Spitz.” The Post wrote that Spitzer “bragged” to Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Schenectady), “I’ve done more in three weeks than any governor has done in the history of the state.”
Source: The New York Post
When Spitzer was king in the media
In January 2005, Vanity Fair ran a piece on Spitzer’s plans to run for governor. He was New York State attorney general at the time, and the magazine opined that “to the man on the street he’s a hero.” Indeed, the magazine begins with Attorney General Spitzer, arm in arm with his wife, making his way along a rain-lashed Canal Street in Manhattan while passersby call out to him with praise.
Source: Vanity Fair
The day after he was elected governor with a record-breaking majority, The New York Times published a short profile of the politician that opened with Spitzer complaining about the slow pace of work on Ground Zero. “It was a double-barreled Spitzer moment,” observed the Times, referring to the governor’s “combative” style. One comment from the Times piece has proved prophetic: “That independent streak lies at the heart of Mr. Spitzer’s broad appeal, but whether it proves an asset or liability in Albany could be the pivotal question of his administration.”
Source: The New York Times
In February 2007, after only a few weeks in office, the governor personally attacked legislators after the State Assembly rejected his recommendation for state comptroller. At the time, New York Magazine ran a profile on Spitzer portraying him as taking on “Albany’s entrenched power structure, making it us versus them, with Spitzer as the face of us.” The magazine judged that the disagreement “played perfectly to Spitzer’s strength, as a crusader for what’s right—not simply on a policy level but on a good-versus-evil level.”
Source: New York Magazine
Biography: Eliot Spitzer (1959–)
Project Vote Smart provides a brief online résumé for the governor, who was born in the Bronx, educated at Princeton and Harvard, and elected to the governor’s office in November 2006.
Source: Project Vote Smart
Related Topics: Other scandals and the cost of not resigning
Jim McGreevey resigned as governor of New Jersey in August 2004 after announcing he had a homosexual affair. "At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is," McGrevey said at the news conference. “And so, my truth is that I am a gay American."
Source: CNN
After McGreevey resigned, Stateline.org reviewed the National Governors Association historical database and found that, in U.S. history, a total of 11 governors have stepped down in the wake of scandal, and many others had been impeached. The article also listed six other governors who had survived sex scandals during office, although several of them did not seek a second term.
Source: Stateline.org
At the time McGreevey stepped down, a poll of New Jersey residents found that nearly half believed he was actually seeking to create cover for corrupt acts. But two years later, a poll showed that more than three-quarters of N.J. residents recalled that McGreevey resigned because he was gay.
Source: National Review
Spitzer completes the triumvirate of "tri-state" governors to become embroiled in scandal. Before shortly McGreevey resigned, Connecticut's former Gov. John Rowland resigned in June 2004 over corruption charges.
Source: StateNet.com
The head of U.S. foreign aid programs, Tobia Randall, stepped down in April 2007 after alleged “DC madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey released a client list that included his name to the press.
Source: findingDulcinea
The trial of notorious Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss made headlines in the 1990s. She reputedly possessed a “black book” listing famous clients who used her service. The black book never surfaced, and she was convicted in 1997 of conspiracy, tax evasion, money laundering, and attempted pandering.
Source: Crime Library
Sydney Biddle Barrows, a.k.a. the Mayflower Madam, ran an upscale escort service in New York City called Catchet, until the law caught up with her in 1984. A Mayflower descendant, Ms. Barrows reputedly took great care of her employees and prided herself on running a professional operation. She became the subject of a biopic starring Candice Bergen and went on to write a book about her life.
Source: Time magazine
The Guardian details some of the political sex scandals that occurred before the Spitzer episode, including the scandals of senators David Vitter and Larry Craig, and Rep. Barney Frank. Craig has declared he will remain senator until the end of his term, and Frank has been re-elected since.
Source: The Guardian
Reference: FBI complaint, press release and the Mann Act
The complaint filed by the FBI outlining the allegations against the four suspects who were arrested last week and accused of running a prostitution ring is available online as a PDF.
Source: The New York Times
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York released a press release regarding last week’s arrests on March 6. It is available online as a PDF.
Source: The New York Times
Federal investigators may choose to determine whether Spitzer violated the federal Mann Act. President William Howard Taft signed the bill, also called the White Slave Traffic Act, in 1910. The law “is a federal criminal statute that deals with prostitution and child pornography,” according to the Law Library. When the law was passed it was meant to “prosecute men who took women across state lines for consensual sex." Among the famous people who have been charged under the Mann Act are heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Lloyd Wright and Chuck Berry. Only Berry was actually convicted.
Source: Law Library
Most Recent Beyond The Headlines
© 2008 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
