Eliot Spitzer - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

loquitur · 03-10-2008, 02:22 PM

I don't think prostitution should be illegal, and I did vote for Eliot Spitzer for governor back in 11/06. Nevertheless, I thought this was the funniest headline I have seen in weeks. And I wouldn't have expected that from The Economist.

mixedmedia · 03-10-2008, 02:34 PM

Well, we all know economists love to get their freak on.

This is probably the best time for a lesser politician to become embroiled in a sex scandal - election year. He should consider himself lucky.

And yeah, I don't care if he sees prostitutes, what's more I think it's none of my business. His wife may feel differently.

loquitur · 03-10-2008, 02:37 PM

"economists love to get their freak on"????

Next thing you know they'll be having parties with the actuaries and accountants.............

mixedmedia · 03-10-2008, 02:42 PM

maybe it's just the British ones...

n0nsensical · 03-10-2008, 02:55 PM

Witty headlines are The Economist's trademark. I love this story. Yet another arbiter of morality proven to be a Grade A hypocrite. When are people gonna wake up and stop expecting anything else?

powerclown · 03-10-2008, 03:01 PM

Yeah let me rephrase that: Poor Judgement.
I agree, he should resign. He's got a bunch of daughters too, sadly.
You (poster #7) want to turn this into an indictment of Bush - some how, some way - color me unsurprised.

host · 03-10-2008, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerclown

2 words: Ha. Ha.

Nice contribution, I learned ....what? From it? I started a new thread related to this, because....what is there to discuss about Spitzer's situation. He's a hypocrite, he should resign.

That however, IMO, is not what should be examined and discussed. What are the investigative priorities of the FBI, during a never ending domestic, "Code orange alert" period?

The_Jazz · 03-10-2008, 04:11 PM

Why should he resign? Apparently he's not going to, but Clinton didn't resign. Granted, he didn't pay for it, but I don't see this as being a particularly heinous crime.

As AG, Spitzer showed light on some pretty unsavory business practices. Unfortunately, one of those involved a friend of mine who's not out of the woods yet, but he'll be the first to tell you that he did what he did.

He should finish his term. This doesn't change any of his accomplishments, although it probably kills his White House aspirations, at least for now.

host · 03-10-2008, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Jazz

Why should he resign? Apparently he's not going to, but Clinton didn't resign. Granted, he didn't pay for it, but I don't see this as being a particularly heinous crime.

As AG, Spitzer showed light on some pretty unsavory business practices. Unfortunately, one of those involved a friend of mine who's not out of the woods yet, but he'll be the first to tell you that he did what he did.

He should finish his term. This doesn't change any of his accomplishments, although it probably kills his White House aspirations, at least for now.

Okay, The_Jazz....bingo!!!! Now, it fucking stinks.....

Spitzer comes from a very wealthy family...why would the feds be monitoring his financial transactions looking for "bribes", unless it is because of "pay back"...officially sactioned politically motivated revenge..... or other political expediency?

Quote:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4424507&page=1
The federal investigation of a New York prostitution ring was triggered by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's suspicious money transfers, initially leading agents to believe Spitzer was hiding bribes, according to federal officials.
It was only months later that the IRS and the FBI determined that Spitzer wasn't hiding bribes but payments to a company called QAT, what prosecutors say is a prostitution operation operating under the name of the Emperors Club. …

The suspicious financial activity was initially reported by a bank to the IRS which, under direction from the Justice Department, brought in the FBI's Public Corruption Squad.

"We had no interest at all in the prostitution ring until the thing with Spitzer led us to learn about it," said one Justice Department official

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerclown

Yeah let me rephrase that: Poor Judgement.
I agree, he should resign. He's got a bunch of daughters too, sadly.
You (poster #7) want to turn this into an indictment of Bush - some how, some way - color me unsurprised.

Can you say partisan witch hunt, using the DOJ to intimidate and crush political opponents? Sheesh,....hasn't everyone learned yet....not to expect anything less from the Bush junta? These are thugs...what will it take to suspect and be skeptical of everything connected to them?

Can you even consider that this is setting an example for all other democrats who now are on notice that the police state is watching everything they do, too? Can you comprehend that the gutting of FISA was for the purposes of consolidating the politcal power of these thugs? No judge to oversee their snooping gives them the untraceable means to turn their intelligence collection against anyone for any reason.....

Ustwo · 03-10-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

Can you say partisan witch hunt, using the DOJ to intimidate and crush political opponents? Sheesh,....hasn't everyone learned yet....not to expect anything less from the Bush junta? These are thugs...what will it take to suspect and be skeptical of everything connected to them?

So you are saying its not the FBI's job to investigate public officials committing crimes and if they are a Democrat then its just a witch hunt even when it turns out its true?

Spank my ass and call me Ishmael but I think you are doing the white whale thing again.

host · 03-10-2008, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

So you are saying its not the FBI's job to investigate public officials committing crimes and if they are a Democrat then its just a witch hunt even when it turns out its true?

Spank my ass and call me Ishmael but I think you are doing the white whale thing again.

I've shown on the other thread, that FBI referrals for prosecution are down 40 percent, Secret Service down 58 percent. Spitzer is a wealthy man of impeccable reputation, embroiled in bitter partisan politics in his own state, and he brought down Richard Grasso of the NYSE and Hank Greenberg of AIG, but Ustwo sees nothing out of the ordianry about the feds monitoring his financial transactions....

WTF?

Update...Spitzer paid cash.... if he wasn't Spitzer democratic governor, do you think he would be noticed or publicly named?

Quote:

http://www.silive.com/newsflash/inde...rylist=simetro

.....The business promised clients they could pay with a wire transfer that would show up on records as QAT Consulting to make it appear to be a business transaction.

"Client 9" insisted on paying in cash.

host · 03-10-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

So you are saying its not the FBI's job to investigate public officials committing crimes and if they are a Democrat then its just a witch hunt even when it turns out its true?

I'm sure Governor Ryan would like a word with you.

Spank my ass and call me Ishmael but I think you are doing the white whale thing again.

You are reacting the same way you did to the deliberate outing of Valerie Plame's ID and employment? You don't even see it.

Ustwo · 03-10-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

I've shown on the other thread, that FBI referrals for prosecution are down 40 percent, Secret Service down 58 percent. Spitzer is a wealthy man of impeccable reputation, embroiled in bitter partisan politics in his own state, and he brought down Richard Grasso of the NYSE and Hank Greenberg of AIG, but Ustwo sees nothing out of the ordianry about the feds monitoring his financial transactions....

Of course how could I miss the obvious connection. Its obviously a politically biased investigation, much like the one that destroyed the Republican party in Illinois. Oh wait....

Quote:

Update...Spitzer paid cash.... if he wasn't Spitzer democratic governor, do you think he would be noticed or publicly named?

There is your key word, otherwise you just end up on the police blotter, but the same goes for any crime with a public offical.

MuadDib · 03-10-2008, 06:07 PM

Frankly, I couldn't care less about what a politician does in the sack, whether they paid for it or not. Like my Grandfather always said, "A stiff prick has no conscience."

Problem here is that he is a high profile character in violation of a federal law (granted the Mann Act is archaic, but it's still on the books). The Justice Department has to go after the guy with all they've got or risk losing credibility by not prosecuting the big fish. The irony of him being a former attorney general, assistant district attorney, and huge anti-crime governor only adds to the necessity of prosecuting.

host · 03-10-2008, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

Of course how could I miss the obvious connection. Its obviously a politically biased investigation, much like the one that destroyed the Republican party in Illinois. Oh wait....

There is your key word, otherwise you just end up on the police blotter, but the same goes for any crime with a public offical.

Ustwo, how many times would I have to hold you down and rape you anally before you started trembling just from seeing my car turning into your driveway? You're a smart man, how come you feign no understanding of what I am talking about?

Ustwo, this statement turned out to be misleading enough to charecterize as a lie...why would they lie like that?

Quote:

http://www.algop.org/News/Read.aspx?ID=7168
Sunday, February 24, 2008
ALGOP Statement Regarding Jill Simpson's Accusations to Air on 60 Minutes

Statement by Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard on the Dana Jill Simpson Accusations Aired by CBS’ 60 Minutes

....“Our staff has done an exhaustive search of Alabama Republican Party records going back several years, and we can find not one instance of Dana Jill Simpson volunteering or working on behalf of the Alabama Republican Party – as stated by 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley. Nor can we find anyone within the Republican Party leadership in Alabama who has ever so much as heard of Dana Jill Simpson until she made her first wave of accusations last summer in an affidavit originally released only to the New York Times..

Quote:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5566317.html
Feb. 24, 2008, 8:22PM
Alabama GOP disputes ex-campaign worker's claims

By BEN EVANS
Associated Press
Comments (8) Recommend
WASHINGTON — A former Republican campaign volunteer in Alabama told CBS's 60 Minutes of what she viewed as a secret five-year campaign to ruin former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, a claim aired Sunday that was denounced as a fabrication by the state GOP.

....Alabama Republican Party officials said Simpson was fabricating her stories.

"We can find not one instance of (Simpson) volunteering or working on behalf of the Alabama Republican Party," state GOP chairman Mike Hubbard said in a written statement. "Nor can we find anyone within the Republican Party leadership in Alabama who has ever so much as heard of (Simpson) until she made her first wave of accusations."

Simpson's attorney, Priscilla Duncan, disputed that account and said Simpson could provide details of fundraisers and other activities she helped arrange....

....Siegelman's bribery conviction stemmed from his appointment of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to an influential hospital regulatory board in exchange for Scrushy arranging contributions to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery.

The Justice Department — as well as the career prosecutors who handled the case — have insisted that politics played no role in the case, emphasizing that Siegelman was convicted by a jury.

Congressional Democrats, however, have been looking into the case as part of a broader investigation into possible political meddling by the White House at the Justice Department.

Also, about 50 former attorneys general — most of them Democrats, but including some Republicans — have asked for a congressional investigation into the case.

"I haven't seen a case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice being done," Grant Woods, a former Republican attorney general of Arizona, said on the 60 Minutes segment. "I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square. This was a Republican state and he was the one Democrat they could never get rid of."....

Quote:

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregiste...950.xml&coll=3
Siegelman treatment standard?
Yes, say experts; but some surprised judge didn't allow voluntary surrender
Sunday, March 09, 2008
By BRIAN LYMAN
Capital Bureau

...Still, it was "stunning" to one well-regarded Washington lawyer that the situation involved a white-collar criminal. "I've only heard it happening on one other occasion," said Michele Roberts, who practices at Akin, Gump, Strauss Hauer & Feld.

The scene -- noted in a recent "60 Minutes" report -- has been invoked by Siegelman's supporters, who contend that his conviction on bribery and obstruction of justice charges was politically motivated.

The defendants were not allowed to say goodbye to their families, noted Siegelman defense attorney David McDonald last week.

"Governor Siegelman could have driven there (the prison in Louisiana) from his home and voluntarily surrendered," McDonald said. "Instead, he was jerked off right away and sent to maximum security prison in Atlanta, then carted all over the country."

Some other politicians caught up in criminal prosecutions have received voluntary surrender dates. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who pleaded guilty in October 2006 to corruption charges, was sentenced to 30 months on Jan. 19, 2007, and reported to prison March 1, 2007.

"Unless the court is convinced there was a real risk of flight, it sounds more like a situation where the court wanted to start the punishment," William Lawler, one of Ney's attorneys, said of the Siegelman/Scrushy case....

How many opposition politicians does the Bush DOJ have to single out for "special treatment" before questioning everything they tell us becomes acceptable to you, Ustwo......one governor....two.....three?

silent_jay · 03-10-2008, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

Ustwo, how many times would I have to hold you down and rape you anally before you started trembling just from seeing my car turning into your driveway?

This may well be the greatest line that has ever graced TFP, fuckin hilarious.

powerclown · 03-10-2008, 06:22 PM

Haha...you're off your frickin' rocker, man.

host · 03-10-2008, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuadDib

Frankly, I couldn't care less about what a politician does in the sack, whether they paid for it or not. Like my Grandfather always said, "A stiff prick has no conscience."

Problem here is that he is a high profile character in violation of a federal law (granted the Mann Act is archaic, but it's still on the books). The Justice Department has to go after the guy with all they've got or risk losing credibility by not prosecuting the big fish. The irony of him being a former attorney general, assistant district attorney, and huge anti-crime governor only adds to the necessity of prosecuting.

They haven't charged Spitzer, and they were investigating him BEFORE they found out about the prostitution ring.

How many times do you think the IRS gets forms from banks documenting cash transactions over $10k or groups of closely sequenced cash transactions adding up to over $10, and refer them to the FBI for investigation and the FBI quickly dismisses the inquiry, if it is true that FBI referals for prosecution on all crimes are down 39 percent since 1987?

Why is it reasonable that the FBI would pursue a full blown investigation of a wealthy man like Spitzer, over such relatively small, considering his wealth, amount cash transactions? He apparently was removing cash from an account, not putting it in.....hardly evidence to trigger a legitimate bribe taking investigation....he also was in a bitter political feud with republican legislative opponent, Joseph Bruno.

It is not the first recent democratic government that this partisanized DOJ had set it's sites on.....

reconmike · 03-10-2008, 06:40 PM

Your right Host they nailed McGreevy too, oh wait that was Israeli soldier.

Anyway here is a man who prosecuted hookers, but can dabble in them himself, as Ralph Kramden said he is the hippiest crit of them all.

Shame though becuase if this was a republican, Host you would be having a field day posting 4 pages of links.

loquitur · 03-10-2008, 06:45 PM

actually, if it was a Republican it wouldn't be a female escort, it would likely be a gay boy in a public restroom.

Ustwo · 03-10-2008, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

Ustwo, how many times would I have to hold you down and rape you anally before you started trembling just from seeing my car turning into your driveway? You're a smart man, how come you feign no understanding of what I am talking about?

While generally I'm against what I see as the overuse of medications for mental instability, I do think there are exceptions.

Get help, you have a problem.

host · 03-10-2008, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

While generally I'm against what I see as the overuse of medications for mental instability, I do think there are exceptions.

Get help, you have a problem.

I'm not the one who has consistently supported what is documented here:

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showpos...9&postcount=15

Or the destruction of a sovereign foreign nation, hundreds of thousands of it's inhabitants dead, and nearly 4000 of out own soldiers dead, justified by what will be described in this coming report, quashed for four long years:

Quote:

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Nat...-briefs-031008
New Mexican wire services |

3/9/2008 -

Report vets prewar White House claims

WASHINGTON — After an acrimonious investigation that spanned four years, the Senate Intelligence Committee is preparing to release a detailed critique of the Bush administration's claims in the build-up to war with Iraq, congressional officials said.

The long-delayed document catalogs dozens of prewar assertions by President Bush and other administration officials that proved to be wildly inaccurate about Iraq's alleged stockpiles of banned weapons and pursuit of nuclear arms.

But officials said the report reaches a mixed verdict on the key question of whether the White House misused intelligence to make the case for war.

The document criticizes White House officials for making assertions that failed to reflect disagreements or uncertainties in the underlying intelligence on Iraq, officials said. But the report acknowledges that many claims were consistent with intelligence assessments in circulation at the time.....

...and no, Robb-Silberman was a "white wash" that was ordered by the president to avoid examining what he knew, vs. what he said to justify ordering the invasion of Iraq:

Quote:

http://www.wmd.gov/report/report.html

http://www.wmd.gov/commissioners.html

.....Finally, we emphasize two points about the scope of this Commission's charter, particularly with respect to the Iraq question. First, we were not asked to determine whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That was the mandate of the Iraq Survey Group; our mission is to investigate the reasons why the Intelligence Community's pre-war assessments were so different from what the Iraq Survey Group found after the war. <h3>Second, we were not authorized to investigate how policymakers used the intelligence assessments they received from the Intelligence Community. Accordingly, while we interviewed a host of current and former policymakers during the course of our investigation, the purpose of those interviews was to learn about how the Intelligence Community reached and communicated its judgments about Iraq's weapons programs--not to review how policymakers subsequently used that information.</h3>

LOOKING BACK:
CASE STUDIES IN FAILURE AND SUCCESS

The_Jazz · 03-11-2008, 05:10 AM

Host, if this was a Republican who had committed a crime (and I agree that it was a crime, I just think it was a victimless one), you would have a completely different set of posts.

Mine would be pretty much the same, although I might express some glee for the right official.

At least I'm consistent. You? Not so much, except with the Bush bashing.

loquitur · 03-11-2008, 06:59 AM

Sorry, but I keep getting laughs from this Spitzer situation. It's so hilariously outrageous. I especially loved this one:

Quote:

Eliot Spitzer Vows To Crack Down On Excess Prostitute Pay
Posted by John Carney, Mar 10, 2008, 5:33pm

Discovering that the exclusive international ring of prostitutes known as the "Emperor's Club" charged up to $5,500 an hour for their services, New York governor Eliot Spitzer vowed to put an end to this price gouging practice.

Four people alleged to have run the "Emperor's Club" were charged with conspiracy to violate federal prostitution statutes, while two of them were also charged with laundering more than $1 million in illegal proceeds.

"That kind of excessive compensation is simply outrageous. Prostitution is allegedly a victimless crime,” Spitzer said in a press conference that took place only in our imaginations. “But now we see that its customers can become its victims.”

Spitzer added it was especially shameful that one of the most trusted names in prostitution had engaged in this shocking betrayal and rank greed.

Jinn · 03-11-2008, 07:40 AM

I guess I'm unique in thinking that whatever non-felony crimes a person commits while not in the line of duty should have no bearing on their on-the-job ability.

Then again, I think it would've been A-OK for Clinton to get a blowjob if he had done it anywhere but work. I think he would've been a scum and his wife would have a right to divorce him, but I don't think it reflected on him at all as a President.

Maybe I'm just a fan of keeping personal lives personal, unless they're grievously criminal (most felonies).

loquitur · 03-11-2008, 08:21 AM

Jinn, I agree with you, except that Spitzer was quite emphatic about prosecuting prostitution rings when he was State AG, and was pretty moralistic about it in his press conferences. So this has a bit of "what goes around comes around" about it. He was very very "holier than thou," ostentatiously so.

He also was taking steps to hide the money transfers he had to make in order to pay for the women's time. That's how he got caught: banks monitor wire transfers and report suspicious movements to the feds. So it wasn't the prostitution that sunk him, it was the skulking around, which skated close to the money laundering laws. I don't know whether the technical terms of the money laundering statutes were violated, but I believe what he did is called "structuring" - doing money transfers in bits for the purpose of disguising their purpose. Structuring is a crime. We'll see what the feds do.

QuasiMondo · 03-11-2008, 08:35 AM

I find this funny that peple will lament this as some kind of witch hunt.

What some people apparently don't remember is that the very same things they are accusing the federal government of doing was done by Spitzer's office himself when he used the State Police to monitor the activities of state senate majority leader Joseph Bruno.

Stop it with this bullshit act of persecution. If he didn't want to be paraded out before the public in such an embarrasing fashion, he shouldn't have been meeting with hookers on out-of-town business trips.

This is all the more disappointing for me because I voted for him.

The_Jazz · 03-11-2008, 08:41 AM

Spitzer is a special case; he pissed off many of the business elite. He got Hank Greenberg, who's a billionaire, fired from his own company (AIG). In the process, he did a lot of good and curtailed a lot of nasty business practices, but he stepped on a lot of toes to do it.

I think it's becoming more obvious why this came to light. Thanks for the additional info, loquitur.

QuasiMondo · 03-11-2008, 09:09 AM

If the motivations behind the federal investigation are true, then being a prosecutor himself, he should've known better than to commit acts that are embarrassing to his family and to his office.

Jinn · 03-11-2008, 09:19 AM

If you're prepared to fuck a total stranger while married, I guess you should be prepared for that total stranger to fuck you (and not in the same way).

loquitur · 03-11-2008, 09:51 AM

For what it's worth, here is a post at one of the legal blogs I like to follow (it's a collection of law professors).

Quote:

How Spitzer Was Caught:
Of all the ironic aspects of the Elliot Spitzer scandal, I think the most remarkable is how he got caught. Based on stories like this and this, it looks like Spitzer got caught because the prostitutes he hired were so expensive that he needed to shuffle several thousands of dollars around each time. Spitzer knew that banks report suspicious money transfers to the IRS to combat financial frauds and money laundering, so he tried to structure his money transfers to avoid suspicion. But the banks thought his activity was still suspicious, so they reported him and the IRS opened an investigation under the assumption that Spitzer was trying to launder money he had obtained from bribes. But he wasn't laundering money — he was paying prostitutes. So Elliot Spitzer, aggressive former white collar crime prosecutor, was brought down because he couldn't outsmart banks looking for evidence of white collar crimes.

If you're a wonk like I am, you may find the comments entertaining and interesting, too. My favorite comment:

Quote:

Is anyone going to help us out here with a link to pictures of this "Kristen" who is supposedly worth $4300 per night? I need to be fully informed before reaching any conclusions on this issue.

dc_dux · 03-11-2008, 09:53 AM

If you're a different kind of wonk, it just means one less super delegate for Hillary.

Ustwo · 03-11-2008, 09:54 AM

This chick better be HOT.

The_Jazz · 03-11-2008, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

This chick better be HOT.

and flexible.

Ustwo · 03-11-2008, 10:56 AM

Whats the over/under for her Playboy shoot date?

I'd say June.

The_Jazz · 03-11-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

Whats the over/under for her Playboy shoot date?

I'd say June.

Shoot date of June with it being on shelves in September but the teaser pics hitting the internet in August.

And posted by Loquitur on the Titty Board on, say, 8/15/08. Place your bets.

Xazy · 03-11-2008, 11:02 AM

I am surprised that the picture is not out there yet of her.

loquitur · 03-11-2008, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Jazz

Shoot date of June with it being on shelves in September but the teaser pics hitting the internet in August.

And posted by Loquitur on the Titty Board on, say, 8/15/08. Place your bets.

Isn't it important for the public to be informed?

The_Jazz · 03-11-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xazy

I am surprised that the picture is not out there yet of her.

Give it time. Her profile from the web will hit The Smoking Gun in 4, 3, 2...

I just finished a phone conversation with a friend who lurks here (fucking post already, dude) about this, and I thought I would recount parts of it. Note for those paying attention: most of these aren't my original thoughts.

My earlier analogy to Clinton is appropriate. They basically got caught cheating on their wives in unsavory ways (Spitzer paid a hot prostitute and Clinton got a hummer from a fatty). The difference is in the individuals.

Clinton was and is a walking party. If you've ever been in the same room with him, you get the vibe quickly. I have friends like him that, if they ever went into politics, would use their office to screw anything that moved. It's just the way they are. With Clinton, you know he wants to sleep with your wife. And if she wants to you may do it. You'll end up being cheated on, but he'll come out of the bedroom, slap you on the back and say, "C'mon man. She's hot and she wanted it. She's a great lady." All in that southern accent. Then he'd make you an ambassador. My point is that you saw it coming.

Elliot Spitzer doesn't just have a stick up his ass. He has a redwood. He's the guy that would arrest you for charging $200 in tickets to a Yankees game and didn't talk any business. Unlike Clinton, he'd more likely have you arrested and sent to prison and then make a move on your wife. It's very interesting that NO ONE came to his defense. Not one single prominent Democrat. They don't like him. There's not much to like. He's holier-than-thou, and he's in love with himself.

There have been scenarios mentioned on how this came to light. Maybe it was part of a DoJ smear campaign on all Democrats. If it wasn't Spitzer, I'd be a lot more inclined to believe that. Since it is and he has so many enemies I give credibility to two theories. The first is exactly how the government's laid it out - the banks saw questionable transactions and notified them properly. It's very plausible. The other is that one of the girls (the latest I've seen is that he used this particular service at least 6 times) had another client or friend who she mentioned this to. That client/friend was either someone in power or knew someone in power with an axe to grind. They went to the Feds and told them where to look. And there is a LOOOOONG line of those folks.

Figuring that Spitzer is a workaholic (which is apparently true), he's just thrown away about 100,000 hours of work from his years as governor and AG for a 20 second orgasm.

Hanxter · 03-11-2008, 05:40 PM

on a lighter side...

i used to run book for years, and having talked to a couple of good goombas today, word on the street is that the hooker ring was in fact run but the Gambino's and Genovese's... pay back is a bitch... how could he not know that if it's true... talk about stoopid...

Alan Dershobag stated "This is a uniquely American story. If this took place in Europe, it wouldn't even hit the papers," Dershowitz says. Still, "No matter how smart a man is, when he does his thinking with an organ other than his brain, it almost always comes out wrong."

uuuuuh... ya think???

i smell a book deal...

03-10-2008, 02:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
loquitur Junkie Location: NYC	Eliot Spitzer I don't think prostitution should be illegal, and I did vote for Eliot Spitzer for governor back in 11/06. Nevertheless, I thought this was the funniest headline I have seen in weeks. And I wouldn't have expected that from The Economist.

03-10-2008, 02:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
mixedmedia has all her shots. Location: Florida	Well, we all know economists love to get their freak on. This is probably the best time for a lesser politician to become embroiled in a sex scandal - election year. He should consider himself lucky. And yeah, I don't care if he sees prostitutes, what's more I think it's none of my business. His wife may feel differently. __________________ Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

03-10-2008, 02:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
mixedmedia has all her shots. Location: Florida	maybe it's just the British ones... __________________ Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

03-10-2008, 02:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
n0nsensical Junkie Location: San Francisco	Witty headlines are The Economist's trademark. I love this story. Yet another arbiter of morality proven to be a Grade A hypocrite. When are people gonna wake up and stop expecting anything else? __________________ "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

03-10-2008, 03:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
powerclown Junkie Location: Detroit, MI	Yeah let me rephrase that: Poor Judgement. I agree, he should resign. He's got a bunch of daughters too, sadly. You (poster #7) want to turn this into an indictment of Bush - some how, some way - color me unsurprised. Last edited by powerclown; 03-10-2008 at 03:58 PM..

03-10-2008, 02:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
loquitur Junkie Location: NYC	"economists love to get their freak on"???? Next thing you know they'll be having parties with the actuaries and accountants.............

03-10-2008, 04:11 PM	#8 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	Why should he resign? Apparently he's not going to, but Clinton didn't resign. Granted, he didn't pay for it, but I don't see this as being a particularly heinous crime. As AG, Spitzer showed light on some pretty unsavory business practices. Unfortunately, one of those involved a friend of mine who's not out of the woods yet, but he'll be the first to tell you that he did what he did. He should finish his term. This doesn't change any of his accomplishments, although it probably kills his White House aspirations, at least for now. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

03-10-2008, 06:07 PM	#14 (permalink)
MuadDib Psycho	Frankly, I couldn't care less about what a politician does in the sack, whether they paid for it or not. Like my Grandfather always said, "A stiff prick has no conscience." Problem here is that he is a high profile character in violation of a federal law (granted the Mann Act is archaic, but it's still on the books). The Justice Department has to go after the guy with all they've got or risk losing credibility by not prosecuting the big fish. The irony of him being a former attorney general, assistant district attorney, and huge anti-crime governor only adds to the necessity of prosecuting. __________________ "The courts that first rode the warhorse of virtual representation into battle on the res judicata front invested their steed with near-magical properties." ~27 F.3d 751 Last edited by MuadDib; 03-10-2008 at 06:11 PM..

03-10-2008, 06:22 PM	#17 (permalink)
powerclown Junkie Location: Detroit, MI	Haha...you're off your frickin' rocker, man.

03-10-2008, 06:40 PM	#19 (permalink)
reconmike Thank You Jesus Location: Twilight Zone	Your right Host they nailed McGreevy too, oh wait that was Israeli soldier. Anyway here is a man who prosecuted hookers, but can dabble in them himself, as Ralph Kramden said he is the hippiest crit of them all. Shame though becuase if this was a republican, Host you would be having a field day posting 4 pages of links. __________________ Where is Darwin when ya need him?

03-10-2008, 06:45 PM	#20 (permalink)
loquitur Junkie Location: NYC	actually, if it was a Republican it wouldn't be a female escort, it would likely be a gay boy in a public restroom.

03-11-2008, 05:10 AM	#23 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	Host, if this was a Republican who had committed a crime (and I agree that it was a crime, I just think it was a victimless one), you would have a completely different set of posts. Mine would be pretty much the same, although I might express some glee for the right official. At least I'm consistent. You? Not so much, except with the Bush bashing. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

03-11-2008, 07:40 AM	#25 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	I guess I'm unique in thinking that whatever non-felony crimes a person commits while not in the line of duty should have no bearing on their on-the-job ability. Then again, I think it would've been A-OK for Clinton to get a blowjob if he had done it anywhere but work. I think he would've been a scum and his wife would have a right to divorce him, but I don't think it reflected on him at all as a President. Maybe I'm just a fan of keeping personal lives personal, unless they're grievously criminal (most felonies). __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

03-11-2008, 08:21 AM	#26 (permalink)
loquitur Junkie Location: NYC	Jinn, I agree with you, except that Spitzer was quite emphatic about prosecuting prostitution rings when he was State AG, and was pretty moralistic about it in his press conferences. So this has a bit of "what goes around comes around" about it. He was very very "holier than thou," ostentatiously so. He also was taking steps to hide the money transfers he had to make in order to pay for the women's time. That's how he got caught: banks monitor wire transfers and report suspicious movements to the feds. So it wasn't the prostitution that sunk him, it was the skulking around, which skated close to the money laundering laws. I don't know whether the technical terms of the money laundering statutes were violated, but I believe what he did is called "structuring" - doing money transfers in bits for the purpose of disguising their purpose. Structuring is a crime. We'll see what the feds do.

03-11-2008, 08:35 AM	#27 (permalink)
QuasiMondo Wise-ass Latino Location: Pretoria (Tshwane), RSA	I find this funny that peple will lament this as some kind of witch hunt. What some people apparently don't remember is that the very same things they are accusing the federal government of doing was done by Spitzer's office himself when he used the State Police to monitor the activities of state senate majority leader Joseph Bruno. Stop it with this bullshit act of persecution. If he didn't want to be paraded out before the public in such an embarrasing fashion, he shouldn't have been meeting with hookers on out-of-town business trips. This is all the more disappointing for me because I voted for him. __________________ Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer. -From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

03-11-2008, 08:41 AM	#28 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	Spitzer is a special case; he pissed off many of the business elite. He got Hank Greenberg, who's a billionaire, fired from his own company (AIG). In the process, he did a lot of good and curtailed a lot of nasty business practices, but he stepped on a lot of toes to do it. I think it's becoming more obvious why this came to light. Thanks for the additional info, loquitur. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

03-11-2008, 09:09 AM	#29 (permalink)
QuasiMondo Wise-ass Latino Location: Pretoria (Tshwane), RSA	If the motivations behind the federal investigation are true, then being a prosecutor himself, he should've known better than to commit acts that are embarrassing to his family and to his office. __________________ Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer. -From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

03-11-2008, 09:19 AM	#30 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	If you're prepared to fuck a total stranger while married, I guess you should be prepared for that total stranger to fuck you (and not in the same way). __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

03-11-2008, 09:53 AM	#32 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	If you're a different kind of wonk, it just means one less super delegate for Hillary. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire

03-11-2008, 09:54 AM	#33 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	This chick better be HOT. __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

03-11-2008, 10:56 AM	#35 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	Whats the over/under for her Playboy shoot date? I'd say June. __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

03-11-2008, 11:02 AM	#37 (permalink)
Xazy People in masks cannot be trusted Location: NYC	I am surprised that the picture is not out there yet of her.

03-11-2008, 05:40 PM	#40 (permalink)
Hanxter The Griffin	on a lighter side... i used to run book for years, and having talked to a couple of good goombas today, word on the street is that the hooker ring was in fact run but the Gambino's and Genovese's... pay back is a bitch... how could he not know that if it's true... talk about stoopid... Alan Dershobag stated "This is a uniquely American story. If this took place in Europe, it wouldn't even hit the papers," Dershowitz says. Still, "No matter how smart a man is, when he does his thinking with an organ other than his brain, it almost always comes out wrong." uuuuuh... ya think??? i smell a book deal...