Maybe because I’ve been following the Don Siegelman case closely, but when I heard about Elliot Spitzer’s pending indictment, something just didn’t past the smell test. While he’s admitted to involvement with a prostitution ring and I’m by no means absolving him or trying to diminish the charges, there are more than a few unresolved aspects of this that keep me from calling for his resignation.
Jane Hamsher has summed up these little niggling questions very well:
1. Why would the bank tell the IRS and not Spitzer himself if there was a suspicious transfer? Spitzer is a longtime client, a rich guy and the governor. We’re talking thousands of dollars here, not millions. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that they spotted a “suspicious transfer” made by the governor, and that this is how things began. It’s possible it was just ordinary paperwork the bank had to file with the government whenever some particular flag was raised, but if that’s the case, why did the DoJ go to DefCon 3?
2. What is a USA doing prosecuting a prostitution case? This isn’t normally what the feds spend their time with.
3. Mike Garcia is a Chertoff crony. Sources familiar with the investigation say that he sent a prosecution memo to DC two months ago asking for authority to indict a public figure (Spitzer). Which means they had their case made long before the wire tap of February 13. Why did they then include this line from that conversation in the complaint?
LEWIS continued that from what she had been told “he” (believed to be a reference to Client-9) “would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe — you know — I mean that…very basic things….”Kristen” responded: “I have a way of dealing with that…I’d be like listen dude, you really want the sex?…You know what I mean.”
This salacious detail does not seem like it’s necessary to make their case, and appears to be added for no other purpose than to destroy Spitzer’s career.
Scott Horton (who covers the Siegelman case extensively) and Digby have similar questions, while Glenn Greenwald notes the double standard between the breathless media coverage of Spitzer’s scandal and David Vitter. And Will Bunch looks at the incredible history of the Mann act.
No Trackbacks To “Some Questions on Spitzer“
To point #1 - It is called a SARS (suspicious activity report) and it comes from the Patriot Act. Banks must issue this when suspicious activity is noted and cannot tell their customer. I am a director and have seen many of these reports for some rather silly reasons, including check kiting.
Spitzer has powerful enemies. Of course this thing was a political hit job.
Many, many politicians see prostitutes in DC. There is an entire industry that simply provides prostitutes for politicians. If the feds wanted to crack down on escort services, all they would have to do is look in a phone book.
Spitzer’s been doing this stuff himself for years. If we can make fun of the score of Republicans for cheating on their wives, then Spitzer’s fair game. His dick got the better of him. Prostitution IS still illegal. Did plenty of people want Spitzer to go down? The floor of the exchange erupted in cheers yesterday when this news broke. Moral of the story: If you are going to play dirty yourself, you better keep your own nose clean.
Another Crook AND Liar goes down. Will plenty of Repubs rejoice? Sure. Just like we do when we’ve heard that another Repub hypocrite goes down.
No Tolerance for Crooks - especially not among our own.
“1. Why would the bank tell the IRS and not Spitzer himself if there was a suspicious transfer?”
Easy - banks are required to report any and all transactions to the IRS over a certain dollar amount, which I believe is $2,500. Just part of the financial hammer of the modern American Police State.
Spitzer was merciless (rightly so) and aggressively used every means availalable to prosecute Wall Street crooks. What goes around comes around.
Time to play Devil’s Advocate:
1. Why would the bank tell the IRS and not Spitzer himself
Because due to anti-money laundering laws banks are required to report any “abnormal” transfers as well as all transactions over a few thousand except where they’re normal and recurring (such as a grocery store’s deposits).
2. What is a USA doing prosecuting a prostitution case?
Because this is a state governor, not John Q. Cruising_the_Bowery.
Which means they had their case made long before the wire tap of February 13.
You normally have to make a case in order to get wiretap authorisation.
I have no sympathy for the guy. He’s been abusing his power for years (so much so that Cuomo had to admonish him) and just like all the Republicans who’ve been nailed over the past year or so, he’s a damned hypocrite, doing exactly that for which he both chastised and persecuted others.
yeah right — the governor is now a suspected terrorist? these times are surreal!!! the answer is easy — domestic wiretapping is broader than issues relative to suspected terrorism. i suspect we will discover one day that it is being used for a multitude of political and power hungry purposes. makes watergate look like a walk in the park.
Radian @ 4:
I believe the amount is 10 grand - which is relevant in this case becuase presumably the cash was less - unless Spitzer was ordering a lot of sex.
Anything less than 10K is not supposed to be the government’s business. This is why you don’t have to declare less than that amount when you enter the U.S.
Something interesting to ponder
Spitzer was talking about Sales Taxes from Amazon.com for NY buyers. Might be something there… ;-)
Spitzer should resign. He broke the law and shamed the office, so he should step down imo.
However, on a more important note. Who gives a shit about this? There are literally hundreds of elected officials (democrat and republican) in this country abusing their power, and overreaching constitutional limits. Those are the people that Faux New and CfrNN should be reporting on.
Is the FBI usually involved in wiretapping a small prostitution ring? If not, I tend to doubt the investigation started with the prostitution ring, but with Spitzer.
Who gives a shit…He got caught doing something really illegal that he busted many other people for. He’s a hypocrite that got caught and now he’s paying for it. When we through the rascals out, it’s gotta be all of them not just the ones with R’s next to their names.
As I understand it; Banks are not required to report transactions under $10,000. Why would a bank report suspisous activity of $5,000 to Federal Authorities if not for political reasons?
The banks are forbidden from informing customers about transactions that trigger the duty to report to the IRS, good customer or not.
Ill sum it up in one word
ABUNCHOFHYPOCRITES
Fade @ 3:
BINGO! He should’ve been smart enough to realize he could be easily trapped . . or did he want to get caught?
Vitter didn’t have to Resign; why should Spitzer?
It sucks but if you’re gonna make powerful enemies you better make sure your nose is clean and his wasn’t. He should have known better.
After the Seigleman affair it is entirely appropriate to be suspicious of this extremely politicized Justice Dept that is full of Pat Robertson-spawned lawyers.
I think Spitzer should have said:
Make it a package deal and put pressure on Repubs with the same problem.
Get your free Pocket BARACK-itizer here.
BigTobacco @ 2:
You are so right except that Spitzer has sent many a criminal to prison. If he committed crimes he must pay. Supporting Spitzer would unfortunately make us progressives total hypocrites.
On 24 May 2004, Grasso was sued by New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, demanding repayment of the majority of a nearly $140 million pay package. Prior to being dismissed, Grasso had been in line to receive an additional $48 million over the $139.5 million he had already received; he was not paid the additional funds. Grasso has sued to gain those funds. According to the suit, Grasso, along with former NYSE director Kenneth Langone, misled the NYSE board about the details of his pay package, beyond that of comparable chief executives.
“A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.”
Karl Rove!
A spokesman for the Minority (Republican) Leader of the New York State Assembly has announced that if Spitzer doesn’t resign in 48 hours, articles of impeachment will be introduced. (story) For a man who, let’s face it, blew a couple of thousand bucks on a hooker.
And yet Democrats (the MAJORITY!!) in the U.S. Congress are unwilling to even so much as contemplate impeachment for a President and Vice President who have been caught lying innumerable times, and whose lies are costing the United States approximately a billion dollars a week.
Don’t mind me, I’m going to go hit my head against something painfully solid right now, because the inequality here is already making my head hurt.
None of these are real questions and all of them try to deflect away from the fact that the guy is a hypocrite and he broke the law.
Regarding the bank transfers…Spitzer formally prosecuted people involved with prostitution rings. Don’t you think he knew how much money could be moved around without triggering an investigation by the feds? Also, I think it’s kind of strange that the Gov. of NY is telling folks to tell the woman to go right up to his room, the door is open. He’s the Gov. of NY — no security???? Especially in this time of terra, terra, terra??? with NY always being the “target”?
Sure he literally got caught with his pants down but after the Siegleman nonsense I seem to think that something smells like yesterday’s diapers.
He may indeed be a hypocrite and may well have to step down - that’ll be up to the voters and the Party - but my guess is that he’s gonna kick the shit out of some Feds before it’s over. This ain’t Alabama where the Democratic Governor ain’t got no friends. I suspect that there’ll be some big names getting the hell embarrassed out of themselves.
Donaldd @ 17:
Just because he didn’t doesn’t mean no one should. Are we now looking for Republican politicians to be morally superior?
Donaldd @ 13:
They obviously circumvented the law. If this was a normal trial, the case would be thrown out. The only thing that matters here though is public perception and Spitzer is toast.
Obviously a political hit job set up by the Republican party using the FBI like J. Edger hoover was used and used it. Do I approve of Spirzer’s actions no but I approve even less of the government’s here. The FBI investigation prostitution cases?
More reasons to stand and fight, Democrats. I’m not asking you to defend or stand by Eliot Spitzer. But I am asking you to dig deeper and find out why this story broke so quickly and if it was accellerated by Spitzer’s enemies.
Spitzer’s enemies are also our enemies.
Can the Democrats in NY get Bloomberg to run as Gov on the Democratic ticket?
Fade @ 3:
I have to agree with ya on this…I’ve heard he unecesarily ruined peoples lives and careers to maintain his “white knight” persona…Dem or not, he’s a two-faced criminal politician. The fewer the better I say.
Though I wouldn’t put it past this administration. They probably wanted this guy for awhile…They gave him juuust enough rope to hang himself.
Spitzer has had a hell of a good record fighting corruption and I really could give a shit about prostitution involving consensual adults. What should concern us all is how Democrats think they are gaining the upper hand when the NSA and the judicial have the power to use wiretaps to destroy opposing politicians, while other evidence showing Republican corruption can be destroyed and hidden.
LegallyBlonde @ 25:
Sends a strong message.
Slamma @ 27:
New Rule: No one should ever resign over a sex scandal. Craig and Vitter keep their jobs, and so should Spitzer.
the required transaction amount must be 10k or more for a report to be done by a bank.
if the amount is less than that, but repeated say within a day or two, then suspicious activity report is done without the customer knowing. a lot of bank software will do this automatically without even the teller knowing this.
this was all put in place, or at least better enforced, after 9-11
Not that he should get a pass of any kind, but I do think these things are selectively enforced. Unfortunately when you mess with power, it messes with you back. He should have known to keep himself squeaky clean but I suppose humans have trouble with that.
I think it is very telling that a cheer went up fro the stock exchange floor when the story broke.
Just saying…
See The Big Picture @ 23:
Now that’s totally fucked up!!! WTF DEMS? Get some impeachment goin for fucks sake!
Dhalgren @ 30:
Spitzer is an enemy too, We cannot say Vitter, and Craig are bad and need to step down and then cry foul when the chickens come home to roost (pun intended).
The wonderful and deceptively named “Patriot Act” and further amendments to this atrocious law, now put that limit at $2500 for “non-regular” transactions. You are no longer allowed to get money orders totaling more than $2500 from one location. If you get money orders from the Post Office (I buy a lot of stuff on ebay and refuse to use PayPal) and there are 10 or more money orders and/or it totals more than $1500, you have to fill out a form.
The Patriot Act was never “intended” to go after those who use prostitutes, but as we know from the FBI, the Patriot Act has been abused time and time again, especially for political reasons.
Do I think there was political motive for going after Gov. Spitzer? Very much so. Do I think Gov. Spitzer should have known that he would be a target and should have been more than squeeky clean? Damn right.
You don’t go after Wall Street and you don’t go after corporations and not expect political payback. He should have been smarter than this, but I guess he wasn’t.
Meanwhile guys like Richard Grasso who Spitzer was after get a free pass.
On June 26, 1999, Reuters reported that Grasso met with Colombian rebels, the FARC, in an article entitled “NYSE Chief Meets Top Colombia Rebel Leader”. The FARC is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department (on its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and is allegedly responsible for kidnappings and narcotics trafficking in order to bankroll their revolutionary activities (see: narcoterrorism).
The article quotes Grasso, “I invite members of the FARC to visit the New York Stock Exchange so that they can get to know the market personally.” Some find the meeting inexplicable, considering that the FARC has anti-capitalist ideals and has no officially recognized financial clout. Grasso told reporters that he was bringing “a message of cooperation from U.S. financial services.”[2]
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
damaged goods in a Public Office that can not and should not be below reproach…resign and move on.
Dhalgren @ 35:
To Hell with that. Spitzer is a Hypocrite. We can’t exempt him because we agree with some of his positions. Aren’t we trying to be the party that does the right thing? Doing the right thing means always, not when it’s convenient, not when it benefits us, but always! It’s what we expect from the republicans, it’s what we need to expect from our party.
Sorry, but you can’t have it both ways. If you’re going to tear apart conservatives for being moral hypocrites, you have to do the same in this case. Having a “D” after your name instead of a “R” doesn’t excuse this behavior.
unfrozencaveman @ 8:
it is 10k…..anyone who watches the sopranos knows this
and they want to prosecute him on the mann act???? puleeeese
Dhalgren @ 30:
Much better to just write it off and move on. One has to pick their battles. Not much to gain by reminding the public what a sleezeball Spitzer is. By trying to get to the bottom of th witch hunt you are implicitly defending Spitzer.
The bottom line is this guy was elected to use good judgement to help the people of NY. He has clearly demostrated a lack of ANY judgement and therefore is no longer fit to do the job he was elected to do. Democrat or Republican, he should resign, as should Vitter and Craig.