I have yet to jump on the dump on Elliot “Client #9″ Spitzer bandwagon but it is news and I cannot let it go any longer. Until today’s news, there was little but the indictment, revelation from the indictment, and his speech to go on. However, today we hear that if he doesn’t resign, he could be facing impeachment.
The aggressive former prosecutor turned Governor of New York, made a career of relentlessly pursuing his investigation targets. But Spitzer it seems has a few skeletons hanging out in his closet. You would think, anyone portraying the “holier than thou” attitude Mr. Spitzer has during his career would not allow anything scandalous to exist in his life. Not so. Mr. Spitzer has been identified as Client #9 caught on tape calling in to order a “call girl” for a rendezvous in Washington D.C.
From FoxNews.com:
Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet in a Washington hotel room the night before Valentine’s Day with a prostitute from a call-girl business known as the Emperors Club VIP, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on.
The governor has not been charged, and prosecutors would not comment on the case.
Yet
But an affidavit based on the wiretap told of a man identified as “Client 9″ — Spitzer, according to the law enforcement official — paying $4,300 in cash, some of it credit for future trysts, some of it for sex with a “petite, pretty brunette, 5-feet-5 inches, and 105 pounds,” named Kristen.
The scandal came 16 months after Spitzer stormed into the governor’s office with a historic margin of victory, vowing to root out corruption in New York government in the same way that he took on Wall Street executives with a vengeance while state attorney general.
A defendant in the case, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, told a prostitute identified only as Kristen that she should take a train from New York to Washington for an encounter with Client 9 on the night of Feb. 13, according to the complaint. The defendant confirmed that the client would be “paying for everything — train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time and hotel.”
The prostitute met the client in Room 871 at about 10 p.m., according to the complaint. When discussing how the payments would be arranged, Client 9 told Lewis: “Yup, same as in the past, no question about it” — suggesting Client 9 had done this before.
According to court papers, an Emperors Club agent was told by the prostitute that her evening with Client 9 went well. The agent said she had been told that the client “would ask you to do things that … you might not think were safe … very basic things,” according to the papers, but Kristen responded by saying: “I have a way of dealing with that … I’d be, like, listen dude, you really want the sex?”
The next day, Spitzer testified before a congressional subcommittee about regulations on the bond industry.
The ring arranged sex between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris, prosecutors said. Four people accused of helping to operate the ring were arrested last week.
The club’s Web site displays photos of scantily clad women with their faces hidden. It also shows hourly rates, with prices set according to each woman’s ratings, which range from one to seven diamonds. The highest-ranked prostitutes cost $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said.
Elliot, you naughty boy you.
According to the Mann Act, it is illegal to transport a person across a state line for the purposes of prostitution. Elliot could be charged under the Mann Act in spite of the fact that clients are rarely charged in these types of crimes.
If Spitzer fails to resign within the next 48 hours the state’s Republican leadership will be calling for impeachment procedings. They are said to have the votes to impeach.
Spitzer has retained the services of a powerful lawfirm in New York, but that isn’t going to save his job. He is said to be drafting a resignation letter but has so-far been quiet on the subject and Lt. Governor Paterson is gearing up to become the next Governor of New York.
From WCBSTV:
State Assemblyman James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) told CBS 2 HD that he spoke with Lt. Governor Paterson Monday evening and that the two discussed Paterson taking on a new role of leadership, leading Tedisco to believe that action was “forthcoming.”
Tedisco said if Spitzer does not resign according to a deadline that’s been imposed, state Republican leadership will call for impeachment proceedings to begin.
If Spitzer resigns, Paterson will become the first black New York Governor in history.
Note:
I have not included Spitzer’s press conference confession from yesterday. That can be found at the FoxNews.com link.
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And from the canyons and shadows of a great city came the sound of a million voices screaming out one word…
YES!
So when does the tickertape parade for the “Lady of the evening” start on Wall Street?
Any bets on how the stock market might respond to this? I suspect the exuberance of certain finacial institutions might be worth 100 points.