Spitzer's Successor-In-Waiting: I Have No Clue Whether He'll Resign
The drama in New York over whether Spitzer is going to resign is getting more curious by the moment: In the latest twist, Spitzer's would-be successor, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, says he has no idea what Spitzer is going to do....
Mr. Paterson also said he had not heard from the governor on Tuesday.“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 said.
Asked whether preparations for a transition were underway, the lieutenant governor said: “No one has talked to me about his resignation and no one has talked to me about a transition.”
The New York political world is in total limbo right now.
Spitzer already is facing the threat of impeachment from a Republican state leader and multiple calls for his resignation from New York papers.There are reports that he's been using this escort service for at least six months.
The chance that he can survive this is remote indeed, obviously. So the talk floating around today that Spitzer is holding out to somehow make his resignation part of a plea deal is the only explanation that makes sense right now.
Maybe we should ask Sinbad. He's full of helpful insights today.
March 11, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Hillary camp seems strangely quiet today......where are all the threats and demands we have become so used to?
March 11, 2008 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, Sinbad should decide, he has passed the commander-in-chief threshold.
I hope he goes though, I love it when Hillary loses superdelegates, not to mention he is a stain on the Democratic Party at this point, we don't need him laying around smelling up the place. I say out with him and Hillary!
March 11, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Am I the only seeing the Clinton and associates strategy (Yes I am saying Gov. Spitzer is an associate to Clinton, he's her superdelegate and staunch supporter.). Their strategy seems to be to fight it out, not resign when they screw up and are pressured by the public to exit their position they mis-represented.
Lets see if whether Spitzer and Farraro go.
March 11, 2008 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
From the desk of:
Mark Poison Penn.
Attention Elliot Spitzer.
Please call Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at 3.00AM on the Red Phone number. She can solve this crisis for you.
She has over thirty five years experience dealing With Bimbo Eruptions Damage control
Hillary crossed that threshold over and over, girlfriend, so you will be able sleep safe as a little girl, with Hillary on your side.
Hillary has dealt with similar Bimbo Eruptions for more than thirty five years, and Senator Obama has never even made a speech about them.
March 11, 2008 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
He might have paid $15k or used the service for 6 months, but it can't have been both, given their rates, unless he only went a few times.
March 11, 2008 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Paterson is also a Clinton superdel. (He has been hoping Hillary would vacate her Senate seat for him, but all that has to be recalculated now.)
March 11, 2008 4:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Vacate her Senate Seat? What, so she can run for Governor? She's gonna need that Senate seat even more in just a few months. I know! Maybe she can use it to advance the Democratic Agenda! I know this sounds crazy with all the misogyny holding her back, but she IS a sitting U.S. Senator. There are only 100 of them. Maybe she can demonstrate that she is a "fighter" but crafting some legislation!
March 11, 2008 4:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Scott Horton smells a big rat on this one. Check out his post on his blog at
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002589
March 11, 2008 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
From what I know, Suspicious Activity Reports (called SARs) are generated somewhat automatically by banks in the face of, well, supposedly suspicious activity. They are sent to law enforcent or apparently in this case the IRS.
I'm not sure why Spitzer's money transfers would cause such a report to be generated. Perhaps due to large cash withdrawals or deposits, which are probably flagged in order to prevent money laundering or tax avoidance.
Still, it's either a scary sign of erosion of civil liberties or it's a scary sign of a partisan Justice Department trying to take down Democratic politicians (which we already know has been happening, with something like 5 or 6 prosecutions of Dems to every 1 prosecution of Repubs).
From the NYT:
The rendezvous that established Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s involvement with high-priced prostitutes occurred last month in one of Washington’s grandest hotels, but the criminal investigation that discovered the tryst began last year in a nondescript office building opposite a Dunkin’ Donuts on Long Island, according to law enforcement officials.
There, in the Hauppauge offices of the Internal Revenue Service, investigators conducting a routine examination of suspicious financial transactions reported to them by banks found several unusual movements of cash involving the governor of New York, several officials said.
The investigators working out of the three-story office building, which faces Veterans Highway, typically review such reports, the officials said. But this was not typical: transactions by a governor who appeared to be trying to conceal the source, destination or purpose of the movement of thousands of dollars in cash, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The money ended up in the bank accounts of what appeared to be shell companies, corporations that essentially had no real business.
The transactions, officials said, suggested possible financial crimes — maybe bribery, political corruption, or something inappropriate involving campaign finance. Prostitution, they said, was the furthest thing from the minds of the investigators.
Soon, the I.R.S. agents, from the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, were working with F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors from Manhattan who specialize in political corruption.
The inquiry, like many such investigations, was a delicate one. Because the focus was a high-ranking government official, prosecutors were required to seek the approval of the United States attorney general to proceed. Once they secured that permission, the investigation moved forward.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/nyregion/11inquire.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
March 11, 2008 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Uh-oh! The unauthorized disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports is a crime!! Someone better tell the DoJ that it needs to investigate itself for leaks!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_activity_report
The unauthorized disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports is not only a violation of federal criminal law, but it undermines the very purpose for which the suspicious activity reporting system was created - the protection
of our financial system through the prevention, detection, and prosecution of financial crimes and terrorist financing. The unauthorized disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports can compromise the national security of the
United States as well as threaten the safety and security of those institutions and individuals who file such reports. The Bank Secrecy Act
Advisory Group is committed to continuing to work with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the federal functional regulatory agencies, law enforcement, and the financial services industry to ensure that the
information contained in Suspicious Activity Reports is safeguarded, and that anyone who makes an intentional, unauthorized disclosure of a Suspicious Activity Report is brought to justice, whether that person is inside or outside of the Government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_activity_report#_note-0
March 11, 2008 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
The law enforcement officials certainly should not be leaking the entire case to the press. That's a very bad sign of misconduct.
March 11, 2008 5:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
More on SARs here:
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=154555,00.html
Suspicious Activity Reports
Money Services Businesses Can Help Fight Money Laundering
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are one of the government’s main weapons in the battle against money laundering and other financial crimes since these reports generate leads that law enforcement agencies use to initiate money laundering investigations. Many individuals launder money to conceal illegal activity, such as drug trafficking, health insurance fraud, tax evasion, and even terrorism. It fuels criminal conduct, allowing drug dealers, smugglers, terrorists, arms dealers, and tax evaders to maintain control over their proceeds and ultimately to provide a legitimate cover for their sources of income. Law enforcement officials estimate that such individuals yearly launder 1 to 2 trillion dollars worldwide through different types of financial institutions and businesses.
One of the types of financial institutions money launderers use are the Money Services Businesses (MSBs) that issue, sell or redeem traveler’s checks or money orders, transmit money, or exchange currency. Since they are targets for money launderers, the Bank Secrecy Act requires MSBs to file suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Check cashers and sellers and redeemers of stored value are not required to, but may voluntarily file a SAR.
When to File a SAR
An MSB must file a SAR when it knows or suspects that:
The funds come from illegal activity or disguise funds from illegal activity;
The transaction is structured to evade BSA requirements or appears to serve no known business or apparent lawful purpose; or,
The MSB is being used to facilitate criminal activity.
There are two different dollar thresholds that require a SAR. They depend on the stage of discovery and the type of transaction involved. A $2,000 threshold applies if a customer is conducting or attempting to conduct a transaction(s) that aggregates to $2,000 or more. A threshold of $5,000 applies for transactions identified by issuers of money orders or traveler’s checks from a review of clearance records. These thresholds are known as the $2,000 front door/$5,000 back door rule. The $2,000 front door transactions are face-to-face with the customer. The $5,000 rule applies after the records have been processed at the issuer level, thus the back door.
March 11, 2008 6:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Paterson was smart this would be a good time for him to jump off the sinking ship HRC and endorse Obama.
March 11, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
By all means, Elliot. Hang around and let this issue fester for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!!!! you know the rest..
March 11, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Slightly OT, but have you seen who the press is calling 'experts' in the Spitzer story? Dr. Laura and (wait for it) Heidi Fleiss! She was on Nightline last night, so stoned she was incoherent, congratulting Spitzer on "getting laid."
Dr. Laura blames the whole thing on Mrs. Spitzer because obviously he wasn't getting it at home.
Who's next, Charlie Sheen? Bret Michaels? Flava-Flav?
March 11, 2008 6:05 PM | Reply | Permalink