Governor Spitzer pushed to resign

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Republicans in the New York State Assembly threatened to impeach Governor Eliot Spitzer if he fails to quit in 48 hours over a sex scandal that could eventually lead to criminal charges.

NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - New York State Republicans
threatened on Tuesday to impeach Gov. Eliot Spitzer if he does
not quit over a sex scandal that has raised questions over
whether he could face criminal charges.
 

The threat added to pressure on Spitzer, a Democrat and
former state chief prosecutor who made his name fighting
white-collar crime on Wall Street, to step down after a report
that he hired a high-priced prostitute.
 

The Wall Street Journal quoted a person close to Spitzer,
who is 48 and married, as saying he could resign as early as
Tuesday but he wanted to deal with his family crisis first.
 

"If he does not resign within the next 24 to 48 hours, we
will prepare articles of impeachment to remove him," said James
Tedisco, leader of the Republicans in the state Assembly.
 

"We need a leader in place that has the support of people
on both sides of the aisle," Tedisco told Reuters.
 

Democrats hold a majority in the Assembly and such a move
toward ousting the governor would not succeed unless some
Democrats voted with Republicans to produce the required
majority vote.
 

The New York Times said on Monday that Spitzer hired a
$1,000-an-hour prostitute and was caught on a federal wiretap
at least six times on Feb. 12 and 13 arranging to meet with her
at a Washington hotel.
 

Spitzer, who investigated prostitution as New York state's
chief prosecutor but was best known for his high-profile probes
of Wall Street, apologized on Monday for what he described as a
"private matter" but said nothing about resigning.
 

He neither confirmed nor denied the report.
 

"Eliot Spitzer, the onetime nemesis of Wall Street now
engulfed in a sex scandal, is likely to resign, perhaps as
early as today, according to a person close to him," the Wall
Street Journal said on its Web site on Tuesday.
 

Tedisco said on Monday night that he had received a phone
call from Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson to discuss a possible
transition of power if Spitzer resigns.
 

Paterson was quoted by The New York Times as saying in the
state capital Albany that he had not spoken to Spitzer since a
phone call on Monday.
 

"The governor called me yesterday, he said he didn't resign
for a number of reasons, and he didn't go into the reasons, and
that's the last I've heard from him," he was quoted as saying.
 

Spitzer, viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party,
spent the night at his Manhattan home with the media camped
outside.
 

FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
 

The New York Times, citing unnamed law enforcement
officials, reported on Tuesday that the investigation began
last year during an Internal Revenue Service review of
suspicious financial transactions as reported to it by banks.
 

"The payments were made over a period of several months in
a way that investigators believe was intended to conceal their
purpose and source, which could amount to a crime called
structuring," punishable by up to five years in prison, the
Times said.
 

Spitzer was elected with nearly 70 percent of the vote in
late 2006 following his stint as state attorney general --
when he conducted a series of investigations into financial
cases, attracting much publicity but also resentment on Wall
Street.
 

The Wall Street Journal said Spitzer had shown his lack of
restraint in overly aggressive tactics as attorney general,
making "extraordinary threats" to entire firms and to those who
criticized his pursuit of high-profile Wall Street figures.
 

"The stupendously deluded belief that the sitting Governor
of New York could purchase the services of prostitutes was
merely the last act of a man unable to admit either the
existence of, or need for, limits," it said in an editorial.
 

At the heart of the scandal is a criminal complaint
unveiled last week charging four people with running a
prostitution ring dubbed The Emperors Club. Two of the four
suspects are in custody while the other two are out on bail.
 

Prostitution is illegal in most U.S. states but prosecutors
rarely bring charges against clients of prostitutes in such
cases. The "Emperors Club" case is in the hands of federal
investigators, rather than state prosecutors.
 

The New York Times said Spitzer was an individual
identified as Client 9 in federal court papers filed last week.
Client 9 arranged to meet with "Kristen," a prostitute who
charged $1,000 an hour, on Feb. 13 in a Washington hotel and
paid her $4,300, according to the court documents.
 

Among the federal charges against the four defendants last
week was transporting women across state lines for prostitution
purposes. Legal experts say it would be unusual for a similar
charge to be brought against a client.