Spitzer Speaks (updated) [View All]

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Video: Spitzer Speaks

March 10, 2008, 3:18 pm

‘I Apologize to the Public’

By Sewell Chan

Following is a transcript of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s brief statement to the public, delivered at his Midtown Manhattan office on Monday afternoon:

Over the past nine years, eight as attorney general and one as governor, I’ve tried to uphold a vision of progressive politics that would rebuild New York and create opportunity for all. We vowed to bring real change to New York and that will continue. Today, I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my — or any — sense of right and wrong. I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the State of New York. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family. I will not be taking questions. Thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much.

More than 100 reporters, along with 30 television cameras and 20 still photographers, had awaited Mr. Spitzer’s announcement — originally scheduled for 2:15 p.m. — in a packed briefing room at the governor’s office at 633 Third Avenue. As the door opened, Mr. Spitzer had his arm around his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer; the two nodded and then strode forward together. Both had glassy, tear-filled eyes, but they did not cry.

The governor — addressing reports that he had been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-price prostitute at a Washington hotel last month — spoke for just 64 seconds, declining to take questions and remaining silent on his political future. As he prepared to leave, three reporters screamed out, “Are you resigning? Are you resigning?” Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door.

Public Corruption or Vice?

03.10.08 -- 3:50PM By David Kurtz

The NY Sun reported this morning before the NYT bombshell that the case is being handled by the Justice Department's public corruption section:

Prosecutors specializing in government corruption cases are leading the investigation into what authorities say was a prostitution service that charged up to $5,500 an hour — suggesting that the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan may have evidence that a public official hired a prostitute. …

During a court hearing in the case, at which the four people were arraigned, it emerged that all three of the assistant U.S. attorneys assigned to the prosecution are part of the U.S. attorney's public corruption unit. One is the bureau's chief, Boyd Johnson III. The unit investigates wrongdoing by both elected and nonelected officials and bureaucrats at various levels of government. …

"When we first got the case, we were surprised that these were the assistants handling the case," said a defense attorney, David Gordon, who represents one of two women alleged to have booked engagements for prostitutes.

Edited to add:

No allies

Spitzer is very much a one-man show in Democratic politics. Hillary Clinton is probably relieved right now at how thin their connections are -- he was a lukewarm surrogate, and his

But this also means that few Democrats are rushing to his aide, and the Washington legal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington -- which spends much of its time tormenting Republicans -- seems to be taking the opportunity to prove its bipartisan probity:

Given the reports that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was heard on a wiretap arranging for a prostitute to travel from New York to Washington to meet in his hotel room, it appears that he has violated the Mann Act. This federal law carries a penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment for knowingly persuading or inducing any individual to cross state lines for the purposes of prostitution. Governor Spitzer also appears to have violated District of Columbia law, making it unlawful for any person to engage in prostitution or to solicit for prostitution. This is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, or a fine of up to $500, or both, for the first offense.