Mar 11 2008
Spitzer To Pull A Bill Clinton
Governor Spitzer should have stepped down by now, which can only mean he is going to take his state and his party through a grueling and useless legal fight. Federal prosecutors don’t go after Governors without a rock solid case. Some comments here and elsewhere hint that Spitzer is working a plea deal with his governorship as collateral. I doubt it, he is in serious legal jeopardy and I doubt he has much leverage.
The biggest joke of all is the conspiracy obsessed leftwing bloggers. Their denial of the issue is pathetic :the top law enforcement officer in the state was breaking the law and letting criminals get away with it while he was prosecuting others for the same action. This kind of king maker attitude is how corruption flourishes. “Service me and you stay free” was clearly Spitzer’s motto.
By denying the seriousness of the crime, and by trying to deflect the matter through wild-eyed conspiracy fantasies, the left is just re-establishing their reputation and unable or unwilling to abide by the laws equally. They want to hold their opposition to the letter of the law but their people to go free on lame excuses of personal misbehavior. Earth to the left, breaking any law is related to personal misbehavior.
This arrogance is what a free people cannot abide if they want to live in a society of laws. Anarchy is the only option, since once laws are weakened by excuses they no longer apply. In fact, many people find joy in flouting laws. Anarchy is the dream of children, where no one has to live by any rules, but everyone lives like kings. So saturday morning cartoonish.
Spitzer is a man with serious problems. In defending him and making up excuses for him and blaming others for his problems, the left is a political movement with serious problems.
Funny that some are trying to defend him – last night it was obvious that every political ally of his was jumping ship, and in fact were all glad to see him gone.
I doubt he’ll try to hang on – but the funny thing is that it would be a huge boost to NY Republicans if he does; every minute he stays on the stage the image of top level corruption stays hung around the democrat’s necks.
On a different note, found this today on the WSJ’s op ed page, regarding the election for Hastert’s old seat:
“Republicans such as Mr. Oberweis remain convinced that illegal immigration is a winning issue. And if the electorate were comprised mostly of Internet screechers and cable news anchors, they might be right. But the fact that Mr. McCain, the Presidential candidate most closely associated with immigration tolerance, has outlasted Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and other immigration hardliners, should be an indication that other issues are foremost in the minds of even GOP voters.”
By the way, when Spitzer resigns he will be replaced by a blind liberal.
Isn’t that redundant?
Spitzer is a creepazoid.
The interesting part of the story, however, is how his behavior came to the attention of the government and how they decided to pursue it. His bank notified the IRS of “suspicious” transactions. He wiretransferred $$ to the corporate shells set up to collect money for the ladies’ services.
While I have no personal knowledge, I understand that if one say, orders porn on-line, one receives a billing statement on one’s VISA card saying something like Entertainment Plus LLC, so the use of shell corporations to keep some trnasactions confidential is hardly newsworthy.
Apparently Spitzer paid for hookers thru such a shell corporation. Interesting how the Federal government decided to assign the FBI and wiretaps and a strike force to investigate this behavior, while they decline to pursue allegations of rape by female contractors employed by KBR in Iraq, or to pursue GI’s being sickened by tainted water supplied by KBR, or to investigate KBR’s failure to pay withholding taxes for their contractors, i.e., mercenaries, killing Iraqi civilians in Iraq.
Uh – and when is Sen David Vitter from Lousiana going to resign for doing exactly the same thing??
of COURSE Sooth would jump in to say it’s no big deal!!!
I’m no fan of David Vitter – but he didn’t make it his life’s work to personally destroy anyone who violated even the most arcane piece of law. Spitzer did. What’s even better, Spitzer personally pioneered the use of e-mails and text messages to track down financial dealings, and relentlessly prosecuted criminal charges against anyone who intentionally tried to hide their financial connection from LEO – it’s a crime called “structuring”. If anyone in the world deserves to be hoist on that petard, it’s Elliot Spitzer.
“While I have no personal knowledge” – LOL! oh no, of course you don’t!!! But since you brought that point up, that is not “structuring” because the purchaser is not responsible for it, the purveyor of the services is, and they are allowed to call themselves whatever they want. Structuring is the transfer of money through shell corporations and financial accounts with aliases – “daisy chaining” if you will, and that’s what alerted the feds since it’s usually a marker of some kind of criminal activity taking place. That’s what Spitzer was doing here.
And again, with another person I might agree that the feds were being overzealous – but Spitzer made prosecutorial zealotry his life’s work, so this is Justice in its purest form.
Must be hard to see a “good progressive” shown to be so thoroughly mendacious and corrupt, huh?
One last note about Vitter – when is Congressman “Icebox” Jefferson going to resign?
Here’s one more tidbit about Spitzer’s fall out today – remember when Spitzer accused Joseph Bruno of misusing a state airplane? Andrew Cuomo investigated and determined that the allegations against Bruno were baseless, and based on political retaliation by Spitzer.
Now it looks like Spitzer used that VERY SAME AIRPLANE to go meet his whore in D.C.!!! Oh, this story just keeps getting better and better!!
And of course that’s why this is not just a “private matter” – not when you’re using state planes for travel and state security teams to stand guard outside your hotel door!!!
This guy is the poster child for political weasels and anyone with an ounce of common sense knew not to trust this guy on looks alone. Forget the light he casts on his party—-didn’t even think of the consequences on his wife and kids. Let him spend time in the big house where he can become the fully accomplished whore that he is.
At what about that other William Jefferson…….you know the one with the $90,000 Swansan frozen entrees….I guess he gets the minority pass.
AJ,
They explained it on Daily Kos. It’s only a scandal and a crime
if Republicans do it. Democrats don’t claim to have moral
positions against that sort of thing, so when they get caught,
it’s kinda embarrassing but it’s no big deal.
Repeat: Spitzer is a creep. However:
More background on this investigation:
Because the focus was a high-ranking government official, prosecutors allege they obtained the approval of the United States attorney general to proceed. However, the prosecution was staffed by the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice, which is already at the center of a major scandal concerning politically directed prosecutions, e.g., 5.6 cases against Democrats for every one involving a Republican, and opened under the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, which has traditionally been used to punish political or social figures, including
Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson – the first man prosecuted under the act — for having an affair with a white woman, Lucille Cameron, whom he later married.
University of Chicago sociologist William I. Thomas, prosecuted for having an affair with an officer’s wife in France because of his Bohemian social and his radical political views.
Charles Chaplin prosecuted for having an affair with actress Joan Barry in 1944. The prosecution again provided cover for a politically motivated effort to drive Chaplin out of the country.
Canadian author Elizabeth Smart, arrested and charged in 1940 while crossing the border with the British poet George Barker.
Big mistake, Sooth, based on the fact that you’re just repeating posts you see on other people’s websites and you don’t have any real understanding of what’s going on: You’re assuming that this will be a Mann Act prosecution, which is what the arrests in your post are about.
However, what Spitzer will likely be charged with is some form of Structuring, which is a money laundering violation under the BSA/Bank Secrecy Act. Many, if not most white collar prosecutions in recent years are based on this piece of law.
Here’s a handy rundown for those who are interested – this may seem like an arcane piece of law, but Spitzer himself made it his life’s work to prosecute these kinds of violations:
http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/ch25s17.html
4.26.13.2.1 (06-01-2006)
Structuring Defined
The definition of structuring for purposes of currency transaction reporting is found at 31 CFR 103.11(gg). The elements of the structuring regulations are:
A person acting alone, in conjunction with others, or on behalf of others,
Conducts or attempts to conduct,
One or more transactions in currency,
In any amount,
At one or more financial institutions,
On one or more days,
For the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of 31 CFR 103.22 (requiring CTRs).
The definition is specifically written to include those transactions which occur beyond a single business day and transactions which are conducted through more than one financial institution, but only if the purpose of the transaction(s) is to evade the reporting requirements. It is not the intent of the definition to expand the reporting requirements of a financial institution.
The definition of structuring is not the same as, and is separate from, any requirement to report suspicious transactions. However, attempts to structure need to be reported as suspicious transactions on the appropriate Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) form.
Oh come on Soothie, were any of those people Governors being investigated by federal prosecutors?
Terry, he doesn’t even understand the nature of the charges that will be filed. It’s NOT about the prostitution, it’s about hiding the source of cash used to pay for it – and this is pretty standard in white collar criminal prosecutions.
If Spitzer would have simply withdrawn 55 $100 bills and paid in cash, he would probably have been fine. This is below the $10K reporting limit. Also, if he had paid with a personal credit card there would have been no BSA violation. However, both of these options would have left a paper trail that other people (like his wife!) could have found. It’s the attempt to hide the source of funds – in ANY amount – that triggers the criminal penalties of the BSA.
And Spitzer, of all people, KNEW this – it was his life’s work!!!
WWS is correct as to the charges as the FBI team covering this case are white collar crime specialists and cover public corruption specifically.
I should have added the definition of money laundering: Hiding the source of cash if the money is from illegal activities, OR hiding the source of cash if the money is intended to finance illegal activities. (In this case, prostitution) The prostitution really only matters in that because of it Spitzer’s actions satisfy the legal definition of money laundering across state lines, which is a federal offense punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison – which is why Spitzer is in some very serious trouble here. No need for Mann act prosecutions, the BSA charges are much harsher – which is why that is what he will be charged with it unless he finds a way to negotiate his way out of it. (who knows what kind of talks are going on right now)
Remember when Sooth was all worked up about the Tom Delay case, which is still dead? In that case, it was non-hidden money used to finance politics, but he and Ronnie Earle (the Travis County AG) both thought it was worth trying some bizarre legal theory that has been shot down.
Btw, what’s happened to that case is that it seems there is a gentleman’s aggreement on all sides that it will stay in limbo until Ronnie Earle leaves office after this year’s election (he’s already announced his retirement) and then the new prosecutor can quietly drop all the old charges with as little fanfare as possible.
No action has been taken on that case by anyone on either side for years now – pretty good sign that the case is dead. All that’s left is for someone official to say a eulogy over the remains, and Ronnie Earle is too proud and too old to do it himself.
It’s my understanding that Spitzer is a superdelegate. Moreover, he’s a superdelegate who’s been pro-Hillary… at least until now.
If this is correct, won’t it be interesting to see how Spitzer’s predicament affects the Clintons? The Democrat nomination might very well boil down to the last superdelegate. If Spitzer resigns, does he lose his SD status, and by extension, does Hillary lose a crucial vote in her favor? If Clintons turn against Spitzer, and he doesn’t resign, would that push his vote toward Obama? If the Clintons don’t denounce Spitzer, will public animus (if any) backfire on Hillary?
Addendum:
Clarice (natch) is all over this in the JOM comment thread.
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2008/03/spitzer-linked.html#comments
Not to defend Spitzer, but get your facts straight:
Now it looks like Spitzer used that VERY SAME AIRPLANE to go meet his whore in D.C.!!!
Spitzer was in D.C. testifying on April 13th, so the plane was used for official business. Nice try.
As for what the exact nature of the charges against Spitzer will be, i.e., what statutes they will ahve to prove he violated, I’d wait for the indictment, which so far I haven’t seen.
Note to WWS: Structuring means breaking transactions larger than $10,000 into smaller increments by making multiple deposits or withdrawals or by buying cashiers’ checks, money orders, or other monetary instruments for the express purpose of evading the reporting requirements.
If the government actually indicts Spitzer for “structuring”, I would think they’re going to have to prove – beyond a reasonable doubt – that Spitzer was breaking transactions larger than $10,000 into smaller ones for the express purpose . . . etc.
From the informaton I’ve seen, Spitzer was paying $4,000 – $5,00o per “session”. And if he was merely paying for the sessions as they occurred, I don’t see a jury convicting on such bootstrapped charges.
Soothsayer, probably just an elaborate Rovian plot. They miss you over at Kos.
Kos is above Sooth…more like Democratic Underground.
Yikes, Whippet. I was just bustin’ his chops a little. You give no quarter, do you?