Here are David Letterman’s Top Ten Eliot Spitzer Excuses:
10. Oh come on, like you were never involved in a prostitution ring
9. Hookers is fun.
8. Just trying to help the economy
7. Have you ever been to Albany?
6. It’s part of my new MTV prank show, “Spitz’d.â€
5. Haven’t been myself since Roy Scheider died.
4. Uh, tainted beef?
3. Whether it’s a hooker or your wife, you’re always paying for it — you married fellas know what I’m talking about.
2. Wanted to be known as the Charlie Sheen of politics.
1. I thought Bill Clinton legalized this years ago.
For more Spitzer humor, try this.
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55 Comments
Hmmm. Looks like the FBI cooled its heels and delayed lowering the boom on Emperor’s Club VIP in order to snare Eliot Spitzer. As a reader of Talking Points Memo comments,
“But here is where it gets odd. The wire tap goes live toward the beginning of January. They listen in to numerous conversations between clients and the escort service owners/operators all through January and early February.
Judging from the affidavit, they obviously have more than enough to bust all four employees and numerous johns. But they don’t.
They sit on the wire until February 11, when Eliot Spitzer contacts the service. Importantly, the investigators would have known that Spitzer was a repeat user. So, if they bring charges in early February, they get the brothel owners, but they don’t get the big prize - the moralizing Governor of New York state.
Were they waiting for him? I don’t know. But look at the timing: Spitzer has his liason with the prostitute on February 12, and suddenly, the Feds wrap up their investigation. They file charges just three weeks later. They had their evidence.
This smells like they were sitting on the wire, knowing Spitzer was eventually going to call.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/
No tears for Spitzer. But for the Bush Justice Department and the FBI to allow crimes to go on being committed in order to snare a political opponent seems fully consistent with the political prosecutions we’ve seen elsewhere, particularly with that of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
Humor? Try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJUTuDG8XGA
Where’s GMC with his Tony Soprano “Fugitabout-it, everybody-des-it” defense?
Oh, I forgot, such doesn’t apply to democrats - never mind…
CF
I invite you to study any case where wire taps are used.
Hell, go back and look at some of the wire taps Spitzer used, as AG.
I am sure you will find several cases where recordings of much older vintage that this were used against a defendant, months or even years after the tape was made.
Did Larry Craig resign yet?
Or, is he still hanging out in bathrooms and soliciting anonymous sex on behalf of Idaho?
His wife looks like an older version of Jennifer Aniston. You know Mrs. Spitzer has paid for a male prostitute as well, she’s just not dumb enough to get caught.
“Many in the media refer to Eliot Spitzer as some moral hero who fell from grace. Spitzer was never a moral hero. He was an unscrupulous prosecutor who threw his power around to ruin people, even when he didn’t have any case with which to convict them of anything.
Because he was using his overbearing power against businesses, the anti-business left idolized him, just as they idolized Ralph Nader before him as some sort of secular saint because he attacked General Motors.
What Eliot Spitzer did was not out of character. It was completely in character for someone with the hubris that comes with the ability to misuse his power to make or break innocent people.”
http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/03/12/non-judgmental_nonsense
—————
I feel bad for your family Mr. Spitzer. Don’t let the screen door hit you…
Hmm, Kathleen sebelius, I’m only charging 500 dollars an hour.
It was completely in character for someone with the hubris that comes with the ability to misuse his power to make or break innocent people.”
Then we’ll be reading about GW next?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120528340543329043.html?mod=hpp_us_inside_today
Debate Continues on Whether Wall
Street Changes Have Aided Investors
By AARON LUCCHETTI and JOANN S. LUBLIN March 12, 2008; Page A18
Eliot Spitzer may not be New York’s governor for long. But it will be many years before Wall Street and the financial industry forget him.
The changes Mr. Spitzer pushed through earlier this decade as New York’s attorney general continue to affect how investors and companies buy stocks, mutual funds and insurance, among other things. Whether those changes have helped investors remains disputed.
Mr. Spitzer “had an enormously positive impact on the securities industry,” said John C. Bogle, founder of mutual-fund firm Vanguard Group and a frequent critic of Wall Street practices. “He really wanted reform. It wasn’t just for the headlines.”
Mr. Bogle says he expects Mr. Spitzer to leave office soon. “In my long career, I don’t remember anything that left me as deeply and profoundly saddened,” he said. “I feel like I’ve lost an ally and a friend.”
While Mr. Spitzer’s aggressive — some say ruthless — tactics were criticized, his supporters say the industries he went after were usually left in better shape.
“Whether for his own purposes or not, he was the one that put the brakes on,” said Tamar Frankel, a Boston University professor of law. He “stopped the slippery slope” that many in the financial-services industry were operating under around the turn of the century.
Mr. Spitzer’s powerful targets don’t see it that way, of course. The first feather in his cap as attorney general — a $1.4 billion settlement with Wall Street firms for faulty stock research — led to widespread changes, but some say bad has come with the good. Mr. Spitzer’s investigation led to a settlement between Wall Street firms and regulators in which the firms agreed to separate research and banking while making independent research available to investors.
Some Wall Street stock researchers are now paid less than they used to be. Top talent has moved to hedge funds or Wall Street’s proprietary-trading desks. “The net result has been less research than there was five or 10 years ago,” said Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates Inc., a New York executive-pay consultancy.
The settlement resulted in broader disclosure in Wall Street research reports of potential conflicts of interest. Investment banks often reap big fees from the companies their analysts assess. Ms. Frankel praises this change, saying investors now recognize research is coming from “salespeople that have a stake” in their recommendations.
Mr. Spitzer then started bringing cases against mutual-fund firms for giving rich investors and hedge funds trading perks at the expense of individual investors. The investigations led to a flurry of multimillion-dollar settlements and executive resignations. Mr. Spitzer seemed invincible.
But as his cases grew more personal, Mr. Spitzer started encountering resistance. He sued former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso in 2004, claiming that his compensation was excessive. His investigations also helped lead to the departures of top executives at two insurance giants. “Mr. Spitzer has gone too far,” wrote former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman John C. Whitehead in an April 2005 opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. “His actions are beginning to do more harm than good.”
The attorney general often clashed personally with his rivals. “To be a crusader takes a certain streak of self-righteousness,” says Mr. Bogle. “But he did some things that were a little too aggressive.”
Mr. Spitzer’s reputation carried him to a landslide victory in the 2006 New York gubernatorial race and emboldened officials in other states to pursue white-collar crime.
Some say Wall Street shouldn’t necessarily feel relieved if Mr. Spitzer leaves, because his downfall would be unrelated to his earlier prosecutions of financial-services cases.
Mr. Spitzer’s fall from power wouldn’t damp other states’ pursuit of improper corporate practices, predicts Connecticut Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, who oversees a $26 billion public-pension fund. “The corporate-governance movement has never been one person’s crusade,” she says.
Write to Aaron Lucchetti at aaron.lucchetti@wsj.com and Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com
“But for the Bush Justice Department and the FBI to allow crimes to go on being committed in order to snare a political opponent”
I knew there was a Bush jab in there somewhere in that post of yours, CF2K.
Somehow CF2K expected the Bush administration to swoop in and shut down a prostitution ring without any intention of accruing sufficient evidence to bring charges against Spitzer who was bankrolling the operation.
Such logic is blinded by political bias and as a result ignores the fact that the johns keep the prostitution ring in business (where else does the money come from?). And without evidence, you can not prosecute period. If the johns are allowed to pay for a prostitute’s services with impunity, then there would be no effective means to shut down the prostitution ring.
Getting Spitzer was the right thing to do if our Government is serious about fighting crime.
But thanks for CF2K for the latest Bush bashing talking points memo..
I agree with Letterman’s #3
My Ex cost me about 1500 a throw in 1980 dollars
rfl, if you please, a link to anything which substantiates the allegation that Spitzer was bankrolling the operation? TIA.
The bankrolling the operation allegation, Vaughn, was a refernce to hooking wouldn’t exist if johns didn’t pay. So to avoid the ‘bankrolling’ charge, you’re just supposed to indulge and roll the hooker.
VT,
What does a john do with his money after he receives the prostitute’s services?
I think that $80,000 can be considered “bankrolling”
ALBANY, N.Y. - With pressure mounting on Gov. Eliot Spitzer to resign over a call-girl scandal, investigators said Tuesday he was clearly a repeat customer who spent tens of thousands of dollars — perhaps as much as $80,000 — with the high-priced prostitution service over an extended period of time.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_re_us/spitzer_prostitution
CF2K, I would argue that as the FBI had a corruption investigation going, which appears from the reports to be centered around the inter-account transfer of funds by former Gov. Spitzer, the action taken in not acting sooner was in and of itself not unusual. Again, having been on the defense side of many cases early in my practice, it is not at all unusual for investigations to last “longer” than I or my client may have wished.
From stories, etc., clearly investigations into “Organized Crime” often lasted longer than needed if all that was intended was to find someone who was in violation of a penal statute. Yes, these investigations were after bigger fish than the common “soldier”. Yes, the prostitution ring to which former Gov. Spitzer was linked (BTW, no criminal charges have been filed as of the last I looked) could have been shut down sooner, but what effect would that have had on the corruption probe?
Academic.
The Governor has resigned.
Larry Craig remains a United States Senator and restroom ….ambassador.
rfl, perhaps I should have been more clear. To me, “bankrolling” is financing the operation from the inception, and keeping it going for a period even if the same is not generating any income. While former Gov. Spitzer may have, as alleged, paid $80,000 over an extended period of time for services received, it appears there were other clients of the operation who may well have paid as much, more, or less, for services. I don’t consider any of the clients to be bankrolling the operation, just paying the going rate for services received.
Funny!
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/mikeluckovich;_ylt=AhH8YedUPI9EVCetf.ZyeetQ_b4F
I think that $80,000 can be considered “bankrolling
Dang!!! for that she’d better’ve been better’n my Ex!
VT,
I understand. I did not mean to insinuate that Spitzer was financing the ring for the purpose of sustaining it through periods of time where less than positive net income was earned.
Perhaps, “patronizing” would have been the better term.
Spitzer had no other choice but to resign, what he did was wrong. Now explain to me why Congressman Renzi has not resign.
J R,
I am glad that you agree that soliciting for sex in public restrooms is and should be illegal. Senator Craig would do us all a favor by stepping down for pleading guilty to such an act.
is it still solicitation if you do it for free?
“fish”, yes, it is still solicitation. Depending upon the definition used, in the Spitzer matter, it may not be prostitution if no money changes hands. :-)
It may BE illegal, but why should it be? As for Craig, he should resign. Of course, he was only charged with a misdemeanor. All those COngressman that have not been convicted of a misdemeanor, or let off with a nod, please stand up!
You right ghotiphaze, Craig was officially charged with “‘peeping’ and disorderly conduct”. Not solicitation.
rfl is correct on the specific charges made against Sen. Craig. From memory, the ordinance violated included, within the definition of “disorderly conduct”, what is sometime classified as misdemeanor solicitation under other ordinances/statutes/laws.
LOL, Vaughn, I was aware of the definitions, I was joking.
This is highly premature ,if even possible, but need Spitzer fear disbarment if he is charged at the Federal level?
“It may BE illegal, but why should it be?”
I personally like PUBLIC restrooms and I definately prefer them to be free of people having sex in the stalls.
It should be illegal if a majority of people decide that they do not want this kind of behavior to become common place in their society.
gster, yes.
VT- Would a Federal level conviction carry more weight for disbarment than a State level crime?
gster, not really; felonies are felonies, for example; whether state or federal, both will result in disbarment.
rfl
Posted March 12, 2008 at 11:09 am | Permalink
“I think that $80,000 can be considered “bankrolling”
ALBANY, N.Y. - With pressure mounting on Gov. Eliot Spitzer to resign over a call-girl scandal,”
————————
Is it just me or does anything see the irony of Freudian phraseology sneaking into that journalistic prose? :)
“personally like PUBLIC restrooms and I definately prefer them to be free of people having sex in the stalls.
It should be illegal if a majority of people decide that they do not want this kind of behavior to become common place in their society.”
Yeah, me too.
I don’t know what all the fuss is about over the gov getting a little sex on the side. I thought that was a qualifying characteristic for democrats?
In fact, if history holds true, Silda Spitzer is now eminently qualified to run for Governor of New York - or even the US Senate!
Just like Bill and Hill.
I’ve notice those never getting any are the most vocierous of those who do.
(this is the point where you tell us how you get it 20 times a night and you last 3 hours every time)
how about 20 times a night and 3 hours total?
However, once a knight always a knight, but once a night is enough.
Actually, at my age goes the saying
what I used to do all night, takes me all night do do.
or in laymans parlance
the rules for living
1) never miss a chance at a nap
2) never trust a fart
3)never wast an erec….
I bet that $80,00 Spitzer may have spent on hookers is going to look like chump change when his wife gets done with him.
2) never trust a fart
LMFAO…
lj’s 3) is completed by the phrase “even if you are by yourself”. :-)
Sol, ’tain’t funny, McGee!
“(this is the point where you tell us how you get it 20 times a night and you last 3 hours every time)”
Uh, well fish, you know, that’s true only if you are a lesbian…
how about 20 times a night and 3 hours total?
However, once a knight always a knight, but once a night is enough
The wife says I go at it like a baboon: 15 times a night, but 5 seconds a time.
I tell the wife: once a king always a king but once a month is enough.
Uh, well fish, you know, that’s true only if you are a lesbian
KFG, any guy’ll tell ya, you women just take FOREVER!
Hee hee hee. I KNOW any GUY will tell ya that…
but how many lesbians do you hear saying that?
I rest my case…
…and taking FOREVER?
Priceless. A good thing as far as I’m concerned!
heheheheheheheheheheheheheehehehehehhehehheeheheh!
Y’know, KFG, all the time I spend with my lesbian friends, sex just doesn’t come up LOL
good thing as far as I’m concerned
depends if you’re the pitcher or the catcher
“depends if you’re the pitcher or the catcher”
not for me it doesnt :)
And as for why the subject doesnt come up? Most of us are taught early not to brag.. heheheheh :)
I’ve got to take a 30 second break once in awhile and give some lip service to go the distance, I just don’t have the stamina, or I’m too sensitive.
Back to the topic.
The funniest bit I saw on late night was Daily Show “correspondent” Samantha Bee, while “reporting” on Spritzer’s apology with his wife standing next to him, decided to “confess” to serial philandering on her husband Jason Jones(who is also a Daily Show “correspondent”). But before she does so, she has to bring him out to stand next to her while she does it. So there he is (wearing pearls, no less!) while she humiliates him.
Pointing out, of course, just how humiliating and downright insensitive it is for a politician who has been caught in this sort of thing to stand there next to his spouse while he “apologizes”.
Kidding on the square. No one does it better than The Daily Show.
Will we every find out who some of the other client were that used the Emperor’s Club or will this be swept under the rug like the DC Madam was?
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