NY Republicans Give Spitzer 48 Hours to Resign
March 11, 2008
High-ranking Republicans in New York’s state government have given Governor Eliot Spitzer 48 hours to resign: “If he does not resign within the next 24 to 48 hours, we will prepare articles of impeachment to remove him,” said Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco. “We need a leader in place that has the support of people on both sides of the aisle” (Reuters). The move comes in the wake of a scandal which has linked the Governor to a high-dollar prostitution ring.
On Monday the New York Times revealed that Governor Spitzer (D) was being investigated for allegedly paying thousands of dollars to a prostitution service. The investigation started with the IRS, which was conducting “a routine examination of suspicious financial transactions reported to them by banks.” The banks had “found several unusual movements of cash.” The banks reportedly have anti-laundering teams who report suspicious activity to the IRS. In Mr. Spitzer’s case, initial questions over the activity suggested to investigators that he could have been involved in “possible financial crimes — maybe bribery, political corruption, or something inappropriate involving campaign finance” (NYT).
The situation is considered especially shocking due to Mr. Spitzer’s reputation and platform of battling corruption.
On top of his associating with the illegal activity involving prostitution, Mr. Spitzer could face charges relating to how he paid for the services: an unnamed law enforcement official told the New York Times, “discussions [with Spitzer’s lawyers] were likely to focus not on prostitution, but on how it was paid for: Whether the payments from Mr. Spitzer to the service were made in a way to conceal their purpose and source. That could amount to a crime called structuring, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.”
If Mr. Spitzer resigns, or is forced from office, New York’s Lieutenant Governor David Patterson would take his place. Mr. Patterson, who is legally blind, would be New York’s first African American Governor (CNN).
