Eliot Spitzer
Encyclopedia
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American
lawyer, former Democratic Party
politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN
until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011. He served as the 54th Governor of New York from January 2007 until his resignation on March 17, 2008 in the wake of the exposure of his involvement as a client of Emperors Club VIP
. Prior to being elected governor, Spitzer served as New York State Attorney General
.
Spitzer was born and raised in New York
, by real estate tycoon Bernard Spitzer
. He attended Princeton University
for undergraduate studies and then Harvard Law School
for his Juris Doctor
. It was there that he met his future wife, Silda Wall. He went on to work for the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
, and subsequently the Manhattan District Attorney
's office to pursue organized crime
. He launched the investigation that brought down the Gambino family
's control over Manhattan's garment and trucking industries. In 1992, Spitzer left to work at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
and, later, Constantine and Partners.
In the 1998 election, Spitzer defeated incumbent Republican Dennis Vacco
by a slim margin to become New York State Attorney General
. His campaign was financed by a controversial multi-million dollar loan from his father. As attorney general, Spitzer prosecuted cases relating to corporate white collar crime, securities fraud
, internet fraud
and environmental protection
. He most notably pursued cases against computer chip price fixing
, investment bank stock price inflation
, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders, fraud at American International Group
, and the 2003 mutual fund scandal. He also sued Richard Grasso
, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange
over a compensation package perceived to be excessive.
In 2007, Spitzer was inaugurated Governor of New York after defeating
Republican John Faso
. During his time in office, he proposed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York
and issued an executive order allowing illegal immigrants to be issued driver's licenses; both attracted controversy. In July 2007, he was admonished for his administration's involvement in ordering the State Police
to record the whereabouts of State Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno. On March 10, 2008, it was reported that Spitzer was a client of Emperors Club vip
. The scandal prompted him to resign as Governor on March 17.
On August 22, 2011 The New York Times reported that Spitzer has been sued for a combined $90 million over an August 22, 2010 Slate column about Wall Street firm Marsh & McLennan by two former executives of the company, claiming that they were libeled by the column.
Goldhaber), an English literature
professor, and Bernard Spitzer
, a real estate
mogul. His paternal grandparents were Galician Jews born in Tluste,Poland. His German Jewish maternal grandparents were born in the 1890s in Palestine
. Spitzer is the youngest of three children. He was raised in the affluent Riverdale
section of The Bronx
in New York City
. His family was not particularly religious, and Spitzer did not have a B'nai Mitzvah
.
He is a graduate of Horace Mann School
. After scoring 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT exam, Spitzer attended Princeton University
and majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
. At Princeton, he was elected chairman of the undergraduate student government, and graduated in 1981. He claims he scored a perfect score on the LSAT
, and went on to attend Harvard Law School
, where he met and married Silda Wall
. They married on October 17, 1987, and together they have three daughters. Spitzer was an editor of the Harvard Law Review
.
, Spitzer clerked for Judge
Robert W. Sweet
in Manhattan
, then joined the law firm
of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
. He stayed there for less than two years before leaving to join the New York County District Attorney
's office.
Spitzer joined the staff of Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau
, where he became chief of the labor-racketeering unit, spending six years pursuing organized crime
. His biggest case came in 1992, when Spitzer led the investigation that ended the Gambino crime family
's organized crime
control of Manhattan's trucking and garment industries.
Spitzer devised a plan to set up his own sweatshop in the city's garment district, turning out shirts, pants and sweaters, and hiring 30 laborers. The shop manager eventually got close to the Gambinos, and officials were able to plant a bug in their office. The Gambinos, rather than being charged with extortion – which was hard to prove – were charged with antitrust
violations. Joseph and Thomas Gambino
, the latter being an extremely high-ranking member, and two other defendants took the deal and avoided jail by pleading guilty, paying $12 million in fines and agreeing to stay out of the business.
Spitzer left the District Attorney's office in 1992 to work at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
. From 1994 to 1998 he worked at the law firm Constantine and Partners on a number of consumer rights and antitrust cases.
. He lost in the 1994 election but was elected in the next election in 1998. He went on to become one of New York's most recognizable Democratic politicians. On November 7, 2006, he was elected Governor of New York
.
decided to leave office after having unsuccessfully challenged Al D'Amato
for the seat of U.S. Senator
from New York in 1992. Several Democrats saw weakness in Abrams' replacement as Attorney General, G. Oliver Koppell
, and ran for the party's nomination, Spitzer among them. At the time, he was young and unknown, and, despite heavy funding from his own family, his campaign ended when he placed last among four candidates for the nomination. Judge Karen Burstein
won. Burstein subsequently lost to Republican Dennis Vacco
in the general election
, part of a Republican sweep that included the election of Governor George Pataki
.
That election of a Republican in 1994 allowed Spitzer to run again in 1998. Now more experienced in party politics, he won the Democratic primary election
, defeating Koppell, State Senator Catherine Abate
, local representative Jeff Orlick, and former Governor's Counsel Charles Davis. He went on to defeat the incumbent Vacco by 48.2 percent of the vote to Vacco's 47.6 percent. He ran for re-election in 2002, opposed by Republican Judge Dora Irizarry
. Spitzer won re-election, this time with 66 percent of the vote.
In 2004, The Nation
endorsed Spitzer as a possible Democratic candidate for vice president, stating that he was 'the single most effective battler against corporate abuses in either political party'. He was, however, not chosen.
Governor Bill Richardson dubbed Spitzer the "future of the Democratic Party" at a fund raiser held in June 2005 for Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign.
In January 2006, Spitzer selected New York State Senate minority leader David Paterson
as his choice for Lieutenant Governor and running mate. After announcing his candidacy, Spitzer was endorsed by numerous New Yorkers, including state Comptroller Alan Hevesi
and two former New York City mayors, David Dinkins
and Ed Koch
. On May 30, 2006, Spitzer and Paterson won the endorsement of the New York State Democratic party. A June 2006 Quinnipiac University poll
showed him leading Nassau
county executive
Thomas Suozzi
76-13 percent. On July 25, 2006, he faced Suozzi in a gubernatorial debate held at Pace University
in Manhattan, discussing issues such as public authorities and Medicaid
. When asked about marijuana
, Spitzer stated that he disagrees with medicinal use of the drug, claiming that other medicines were more effective. In the Democratic primary held on September 12, 2006, Spitzer handily defeated Suozzi, securing his party's nomination with 81 percent of the vote.
On October 5, Spitzer, addressing the Empire State Pride Agenda
, declared that as governor he would work to legalize gay marriage in New York.
Spitzer was elected Governor on November 7, 2006, with 69 percent of the vote, defeating Republican John Faso
and Libertarian
John Clifton, among others.
while deferring national issues to the United States Government. Breaking with this traditional deference, Spitzer took up civil actions and criminal prosecutions relating to corporate white-collar
crime, securities fraud, Internet
fraud, and environmental protection.
A number of economists, lawyers and political analysts have commented on Spitzer's active role in public policy debates. The New York Attorney General's office has Wall Street
(and thus many leading corporate and financial institutions) within its jurisdiction. Also, the New York Attorney General wields greater than usual powers of investigation and prosecution of corporations under New York State's General Business Law. In particular, under the Martin Act
of 1921, the New York Attorney General has the power to subpoena
witnesses and company documents pertaining to investigations of fraud or illegal activity by a corporation. Spitzer used this statute
to allow his office to prosecute cases which have been described as within federal jurisdiction.
In January 2005, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
described Spitzer's approach as "the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation we've seen in this country in modern times".
Spitzer used this authority in his civil actions against corporations and criminal prosecutions against their officers. It proved useful in the wake of several U.S. corporate scandal
s that began with the collapse of Enron
in 2001. Several of these corporations, as well as the brokerage houses that sold their stock, were accused of having inflated stock values by unethical means throughout the 1990s. When inquiries into these allegations by the SEC and Congress failed, Spitzer's office used its subpoena power to obtain corporate documents, building cases against the firms both in courtrooms and in public opinion
.
gave him when he ran for attorney general in 1998, a loan the younger Spitzer has paid back. Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner told The New York Post that subpoenas should be used to find out about the loans. Winner wrote to Senate Elections Committee Chairman Senator Joseph Griffo
that an article profiling Spitzer in New York Magazine "outlined what may have been a willful effort by Eliot Spitzer and his father to circumvent campaign-contribution limits in New York state law and then conceal their actions." In 1998, Spitzer claimed that he secured the $5 million loan by mortgaging
apartments his father had given him, but later revealed that his father was actually paying off the loans and, therefore, financing his campaign.
Bucking tradition, the ceremony was held outdoors – the first outdoor inauguration ceremony in New York for over a century. After taking the oath of office, he attended a concert at the Times Union Center in his honor, headlined by James Taylor
and Natalie Merchant
.
", hit an early roadblock when his ideas on how to fill vacancies in the executive department were defeated by the state legislature. According to the New York State Constitution, it is the duty of the state legislature to fill executive vacancies. The governor was criticized as unreasonable for admonishing the legislature when it took constitutional actions. The appointment of state assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli
to succeed the disgraced Alan Hevesi
as Comptroller
of the State of New York was a serious blow to the new governor. Spitzer had backed an outside panel to draft a list of qualified candidates; the legislature resisted Spitzer's desires when these included no legislators. Some Assembly Democrats were alienated over the incident, and questioned Spitzer's refusal of extending patronage
to party members seeking local political appointments.
Spitzer's choice was New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark
, who was selected by a panel that consisted of former State Comptroller Edward Regan, former State Comptroller Carl McCall
and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin
. On February 7, 2007, when the Legislature voted, Stark was one of two names put into nomination, along with Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli of Long Island, Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver
's choice. The final vote was 150 for DiNapoli and 56 for Stark. Stark's main support came from Democrats in the Senate, along with Republicans in both chambers.
Spitzer traveled to the home districts of Democratic assemblymen William B. Magnarelli and George S. Latimer (in Syracuse
and Westchester County respectively), and publicly criticized them for their votes on DiNapoli; he had plans to exert similar pressure on other of his party's legislators.
One of Spitzer's key campaign pledges was to reform the state budget process. While the state did pass a budget on schedule in 2007, the ultimate results fell short of what many reformers hoped Spitzer would achieve. The New York Post opined, "Spitzer promised reform, and delivered something completely different" and termed the budget itself "bitterly disappointing."
Spitzer's budget quickly turned into a deficit, as by the end of October it was projected the state would run a deficit exceeding $4 billion for the year. During Spitzer's first year the state payroll increased, aggravating budget problem. Despite increasing the public sector payroll, in late 2007 New York State started leading the nation in lost jobs. The 2008-09 budget includes measures to counter financial effects of the crisis in the financial sector starting in the second half of 2007.
Spitzer was criticized by members of the New York State Legislature for failing to compromise on issues during his first few months as governor. In one exchange, according to The New York Post, Spitzer told New York State Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco
: "Listen, I'm a f - - -king [hyphens sic on Post website] steamroller and I'll roll over you and anybody else", although they reported that neither party had provided the confirmation the Post sought. Spitzer's reputation as a "steamroller" was shared by a plurality of New Yorkers in a Quinnipiac University poll
, but by a 3 to 1 margin they believed the tactic had been unsuccessful and had only added to political gridlock.
Tedisco later accused Spitzer of cutting $300,000 of state funding for health care and education grants in the Schenectady area as retaliation for Tedisco's opposition to the Spitzer plan to allow illegal immigrants New York State driver's licenses. Tedisco accused the Governor of "dirty tricks" and "bullying".
In the wake of the controversy involving the political surveillance controversy
involving Bruno, Spitzer was accused of pandering to special interest groups to solidify his base of support. "The governor who took office vowing to clean up Albany has lost so much public support that he is reduced to feathering the nest of the unions and other liberals
", wrote Michael Goodwin of the Daily News.
In February 2008, the Washington Post published an op-ed
written by Spitzer in which he criticized the Bush Administration for inhibiting States from pursuing predatory lender
s.
. State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno announced his opposition to the proposal. This legislation passed in the State Assembly
on June 19, 2007, but was denied in the State Senate
and was returned to the Assembly.
Andrew Cuomo
's office admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the State Police to keep special records of Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City. At the direction of top officials of the Spitzer administration, the New York State Police
created documents meant to cause political damage to Bruno.
A 57-page report issued by the Attorney General's office concluded that Spitzer engaged in creating media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel. The investigation looked into both Bruno's travel and the Senate leader's allegation that Spitzer used State Police to spy on him. Cuomo concluded that "These e-mails show that persons in the governor's office did not merely produce records under a Freedom of Information Law request, but were instead engaged in planning and producing media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel on state aircraft before any FOIL request was made." It also suggests that the governor's staff lied when they tried to explain what they had done and forced the State Police to go far beyond their normal procedures in documenting Bruno's whereabouts.
The report cleared Bruno of any misuse of the state's air fleet, which had been alleged. The report criticized Spitzer's office for using State Police resources to gather information about Bruno's travel and releasing the information to the media. The findings of the report were endorsed by Spitzer’s own Inspector General, Kristine Hamann.
Spitzer responded at a July 23 press conference that "As governor, I am accountable for what goes on in the executive branch and I accept responsibility for the actions of my office" and that his administration had "grossly mishandled" the situation. Spitzer subsequently announced that he would indefinitely suspend his communications director, Darren Dopp, and reassign another top official. When questioned about his promise to bring ethical responsibility to state politics, Spitzer responded by saying "I will not tolerate this behavior", "ethics and accountability must and will remain rigorous in my administration," and that "I have always stated that I want ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of my administration. That is why I requested that the State Inspector General review the allegations with respect to my office, and that is why we have fully cooperated with both inquiries."
The investigations of the event, dubbed "Troopergate" by media outlets, have not been affected by Spitzer's resignation. As of March 2008, four probes by the state Attorney General's office, the State Senate Investigations Committee, the Albany County District Attorney's Office, and the New York Commission on Public Integrity are ongoing.
as identification. After meeting with the Department of Homeland Security
in October 2007, Spitzer altered the plan so that licenses issued to migrant workers would look different from other licenses and that the new licenses would not allow access to airplanes and federal buildings.
On October 21, 2007, the State Senate voted to oppose the Spitzer plan by a 39–19 vote. Eight Democrats from moderate districts broke with Spitzer on the vote. After the vote, The New York Times
called this issue "Mr. Spitzer’s single most unpopular decision since he took office."
Following the State Senate's vote, Spitzer revised his plan again, proposing the issuance of a third type of driver's license. This driver's license would be available only to United States citizens who are New York State residents, and would be valid for crossing the Canadian border. Spitzer also announced that the expiration dates of temporary visa
s would be printed on the driver's licenses of individuals living in the country with them.
On November 14, the day following the release of a poll showing the proposal as extremely unpopular with voters, Spitzer announced he would withdraw the plan, acknowledging that it would never be implemented. The decision drew derision from the press, as the Associated Press
termed this reversal a "surrender." WCBS-TV
labeled him "Governor Flip-Flop." State Senator Rubén Díaz of the Bronx said he was "betrayed" by Spitzer's abandonment of the plan.
would defeat Spitzer were he to seek reelection. Two polls in December 2007 showed further erosion in Spitzer's public standing.
service called Emperors Club VIP
and met for over two hours with a $1,000-an-hour call girl going by the name Ashley Alexandra Dupré
(legal name Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro, born Ashley Youmans). This information originally came to the attention of authorities from a federal
wiretap
. Spitzer had at least seven or eight liaisons with women from the agency over six months, and paid more than $15,000. According to published reports, investigators believe Spitzer paid up to $80,000 for prostitutes over a period of several years while he was Attorney General, and later as Governor. Spitzer first drew the attention of federal investigators when his bank reported suspicious money transfers, which initially led investigators to believe that Spitzer may have been hiding bribe proceeds. The investigation of the governor led to the discovery of the prostitution ring.
by state lawmakers.
"I cannot allow for my private failings to disrupt the people's work," Spitzer said at a news conference in New York City. "Over the course of my public life, I have insisted– I believe correctly– that people take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor."
made public that Spitzer used campaign funds to pay for two Mayflower Hotel
bookings, $411.06 apiece, where he was suspected to have met with prostitutes. While it remains unclear if Spitzer actually stayed in the hotel on the nights he booked, The Times has stated that Spitzer met with prostitutes in early 2008. Spitzer declined to comment on the issue.
According to an article published on July 23, 2008 in The New York Times
, the state ethics committee is continuing their investigation into his administration's handling of travel records. If found guilty of wrongdoing, he faces a maximum $10,000 fine. The Times also reported that federal investigators are still debating on whether or not to bring about criminal charges against Spitzer for his involvement in the prostitution scandal. Spitzer has declined to comment on the recent developments.
In November 2008, prosecutors in charge of the case announced that Spitzer would not face criminal charges for his involvement in the sex ring citing they found no evidence of misuse of public funds and therefore pressing charges would not serve the public interest. Spitzer offered an apology for his conduct saying "I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed."
and slowly begun a return to the limelight. Close friends have stated that Spitzer spends most of his time with his family, and regularly meets with lawyers in his father Bernard's real estate office
in Manhattan
. Spitzer and his wife have entered couples therapy because of Spitzer's adultery.
In September 2008, The New York Times
reported that Spitzer was considering entering philanthropic, environmental
, or pro bono
legal work
in an effort to improve his reputation. According to some sources, Spitzer was considering a run for Senate
or Comptroller
in 2010, speculation which Spitzer immediately dismissed.
Spitzer continued to make public appearances and engage in media commitments following his resignation. The Washington Post published a Spitzer opinion piece in November 2008 conveying his analysis of the financial crisis of 2008 and suggested remedies. Spitzer concluded the piece by saying that he hoped the Obama Administration would make the right policy choices, "although mistakes I made in my private life now prevent me from participating in these issues as I have in the past." The following month, Slate
magazine published the first of a new series of columns by Spitzer dedicated to the economy.
In September 2009, Spitzer joined the City College of New York
as an adjunct instructor of political science and is currently teaching an undergraduate course called "Law and Public Policy."
Spitzer took on various public speaking arrangements, beginning with a discussion with the New York chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization
on June 17, 2009. He also made a number of television appearances in 2009 and 2010, including Real Time with Bill Maher
and Campbell Brown
, as well as appearing as a substitute anchor on MSNBC
. On June 24, 2010, CNN
announced that Spitzer would be joining the network to host a "round-table" discussion program alongside center-right Kathleen Parker
. Parker Spitzer, compared by some media outlets to the defunct Crossfire
, replaced Campbell Brown in the 8:00 p.m. ET
timeslot on weeknights starting in October. In February 2011, CNN announced that Parker was leaving the show, which was renamed In the Arena on February 28, 2011. On July 6, 2011, CNN announced it was canceling In the Arena and shifting Anderson Cooper 360°
to the 8 p.m. time slot.
Biographies and profiles:
Interviews:
Media coverage:
Critics: Greg Palast
Reports:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, former Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011. He served as the 54th Governor of New York from January 2007 until his resignation on March 17, 2008 in the wake of the exposure of his involvement as a client of Emperors Club VIP
Emperors Club VIP
Emperors Club VIP was an international escort agency based in New York City, founded in 2004 by Mark Brener and Cecil Suwal and operated from the bank accounts of QAT Consulting Group, Inc., and QAT International, Inc...
. Prior to being elected governor, Spitzer served as New York State Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
.
Spitzer was born and raised in New York
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, by real estate tycoon Bernard Spitzer
Bernard Spitzer
Bernard Spitzer is an American real estate developer and philanthropist in New York City who built several landmark buildings around the city including The Corinthian which was the largest individual apartment building in New York City when it was built. Spitzer is father of former New York...
. He attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
for undergraduate studies and then Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
for his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
. It was there that he met his future wife, Silda Wall. He went on to work for the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The firm has well-noted expertise in its corporate, personal representation, entertainment law and litigation practices, having long been a leader among national litigation firms...
, and subsequently the Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
's office to pursue organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. He launched the investigation that brought down the Gambino family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
's control over Manhattan's garment and trucking industries. In 1992, Spitzer left to work at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates , founded in 1948, is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world. Forbes magazine calls Skadden "Wall Street's most powerful law firm"...
and, later, Constantine and Partners.
In the 1998 election, Spitzer defeated incumbent Republican Dennis Vacco
Dennis Vacco
Dennis C. Vacco is an American lawyer and politician. He graduated a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D...
by a slim margin to become New York State Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
. His campaign was financed by a controversial multi-million dollar loan from his father. As attorney general, Spitzer prosecuted cases relating to corporate white collar crime, securities fraud
Securities fraud
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws....
, internet fraud
Internet fraud
Internet fraud refers to the use of Internet services to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme....
and environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
. He most notably pursued cases against computer chip price fixing
Price fixing
Price fixing is an agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given level by controlling supply and demand...
, investment bank stock price inflation
Global settlement
The Global Settlement was an enforcement agreement reached on April 28, 2003 between the SEC, NASD, NYSE, and ten of the United States's largest investment firms to address issues of conflict of interest within their businesses-Settlement Decision:...
, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders, fraud at American International Group
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
, and the 2003 mutual fund scandal. He also sued Richard Grasso
Richard Grasso
Richard A. "Dick" Grasso was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003, the culmination of a career that began in 1968 when Grasso was hired by the Exchange as a floor clerk...
, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
over a compensation package perceived to be excessive.
In 2007, Spitzer was inaugurated Governor of New York after defeating
New York gubernatorial election, 2006
The New York gubernatorial election of 2006 was a race for the governorship of this U.S. state. Eliot Spitzer was elected on November 7, 2006, succeeding Governor George Pataki, the three-term incumbent, who did not run for a fourth term....
Republican John Faso
John Faso
John Faso was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 2006, and was defeated by Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer in the largest defeat for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. This followed his loss to Alan Hevesi four years earlier in his run for State Comptroller...
. During his time in office, he proposed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York
Same-sex marriage in New York
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of New York became legal on July 24, 2011, under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed on June 24, 2011, by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day...
and issued an executive order allowing illegal immigrants to be issued driver's licenses; both attracted controversy. In July 2007, he was admonished for his administration's involvement in ordering the State Police
New York State Police
The New York State Police is the state police force of over 4,600 sworn Troopers for the state of New York. It was established on April 11, 1917 by the New York Legislature, in response to the 1913 murder of a construction foreman named Sam Howell in Westchester County, which at that time did not...
to record the whereabouts of State Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno. On March 10, 2008, it was reported that Spitzer was a client of Emperors Club vip
Emperors Club VIP
Emperors Club VIP was an international escort agency based in New York City, founded in 2004 by Mark Brener and Cecil Suwal and operated from the bank accounts of QAT Consulting Group, Inc., and QAT International, Inc...
. The scandal prompted him to resign as Governor on March 17.
On August 22, 2011 The New York Times reported that Spitzer has been sued for a combined $90 million over an August 22, 2010 Slate column about Wall Street firm Marsh & McLennan by two former executives of the company, claiming that they were libeled by the column.
Early life and background
Spitzer was born on June 10, 1959 in the Bronx, the son of Anne (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Goldhaber), an English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
professor, and Bernard Spitzer
Bernard Spitzer
Bernard Spitzer is an American real estate developer and philanthropist in New York City who built several landmark buildings around the city including The Corinthian which was the largest individual apartment building in New York City when it was built. Spitzer is father of former New York...
, a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
mogul. His paternal grandparents were Galician Jews born in Tluste,Poland. His German Jewish maternal grandparents were born in the 1890s in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Spitzer is the youngest of three children. He was raised in the affluent Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
section of The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His family was not particularly religious, and Spitzer did not have a B'nai Mitzvah
B'nai Mitzvah
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah are Jewish coming of age rituals. According to Jewish law, when Jewish boys reach 13, they become responsible for their actions and become a Bar Mitzvah . The age for girls is 12...
.
He is a graduate of Horace Mann School
Horace Mann School
Horace Mann School is an independent college preparatory school in New York City, New York, United States founded in 1887 known for its rigorous course of studies. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from all across the New York tri-state area from...
. After scoring 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT exam, Spitzer attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...
. At Princeton, he was elected chairman of the undergraduate student government, and graduated in 1981. He claims he scored a perfect score on the LSAT
Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test is a half-day standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. Administered by the Law School Admission Council for prospective law school candidates, the LSAT is designed to assess Reading Comprehension,...
, and went on to attend Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, where he met and married Silda Wall
Silda Wall Spitzer
Silda Alice Wall Spitzer is the founder and chair of the board of Children for Children, a not-for-profit organization that fosters community involvement and social responsibility in young people...
. They married on October 17, 1987, and together they have three daughters. Spitzer was an editor of the Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School.-Overview:According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports, the Review is the most cited law review and has the second-highest impact factor in the category "law" after the...
.
Legal career
Upon receiving his Juris DoctorJuris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
, Spitzer clerked for Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
Robert W. Sweet
Robert W. Sweet
Robert Workman Sweet is an American jurist and currently a senior United States federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.-Early life and career:...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, then joined the law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The firm has well-noted expertise in its corporate, personal representation, entertainment law and litigation practices, having long been a leader among national litigation firms...
. He stayed there for less than two years before leaving to join the New York County District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
's office.
Spitzer joined the staff of Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau
Robert M. Morgenthau
Robert Morris Morgenthau is an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County, the borough of Manhattan.-Early life:...
, where he became chief of the labor-racketeering unit, spending six years pursuing organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. His biggest case came in 1992, when Spitzer led the investigation that ended the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
's organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
control of Manhattan's trucking and garment industries.
Spitzer devised a plan to set up his own sweatshop in the city's garment district, turning out shirts, pants and sweaters, and hiring 30 laborers. The shop manager eventually got close to the Gambinos, and officials were able to plant a bug in their office. The Gambinos, rather than being charged with extortion – which was hard to prove – were charged with antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
violations. Joseph and Thomas Gambino
Thomas Gambino
Thomas "Tommy" Gambino is a New York mobster and a longtime Caporegime of the Gambino crime family who successfully controlled lucrative trucking rackets in the New York City Garment District.-Early life:...
, the latter being an extremely high-ranking member, and two other defendants took the deal and avoided jail by pleading guilty, paying $12 million in fines and agreeing to stay out of the business.
Spitzer left the District Attorney's office in 1992 to work at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates , founded in 1948, is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world. Forbes magazine calls Skadden "Wall Street's most powerful law firm"...
. From 1994 to 1998 he worked at the law firm Constantine and Partners on a number of consumer rights and antitrust cases.
Political career
In 1994, Spitzer put aside his private practice to concentrate on attaining the elected office of New York State Attorney GeneralNew York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
. He lost in the 1994 election but was elected in the next election in 1998. He went on to become one of New York's most recognizable Democratic politicians. On November 7, 2006, he was elected Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
.
Campaigns for Attorney General
In 1994, long-serving Democratic New York State Attorney General Robert AbramsRobert Abrams
Robert Abrams is an American lawyer and politician.-Life and career:He graduated from Columbia College and the New York University School of Law. He is considered a member of the reform wing of the Democratic Party.Abrams was a member of the New York State Assembly representing the Bronx from 1966...
decided to leave office after having unsuccessfully challenged Al D'Amato
Al D'Amato
Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato is an American lawyer and former New York politician. A Republican, he served as United States Senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.-Early life and family:...
for the seat of U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from New York in 1992. Several Democrats saw weakness in Abrams' replacement as Attorney General, G. Oliver Koppell
G. Oliver Koppell
G. Oliver Koppell is a member of the New York City Council from District 11 in the Borough of The Bronx, covering the neighborhoods of Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Woodlawn, Van Cortlandt Village, Norwood, and Bedford Park. He was elected to the Council in 2001, and recently defeated Ari Hoffnung by a...
, and ran for the party's nomination, Spitzer among them. At the time, he was young and unknown, and, despite heavy funding from his own family, his campaign ended when he placed last among four candidates for the nomination. Judge Karen Burstein
Karen Burstein
Karen Burstein is a politician and former judge from New York. She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for New York State Attorney General in 1994.-Biography:...
won. Burstein subsequently lost to Republican Dennis Vacco
Dennis Vacco
Dennis C. Vacco is an American lawyer and politician. He graduated a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D...
in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, part of a Republican sweep that included the election of Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
.
That election of a Republican in 1994 allowed Spitzer to run again in 1998. Now more experienced in party politics, he won the Democratic primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, defeating Koppell, State Senator Catherine Abate
Catherine Abate
Catherine M. Abate is a former New York State Senator. A Democrat, she served two terms , representing a district in Manhattan. In 1998, she gave up her seat to run for New York State Attorney General...
, local representative Jeff Orlick, and former Governor's Counsel Charles Davis. He went on to defeat the incumbent Vacco by 48.2 percent of the vote to Vacco's 47.6 percent. He ran for re-election in 2002, opposed by Republican Judge Dora Irizarry
Dora Irizarry
Dora L. Irizarry is a Federal Judge in New York. She was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, on January 26, 1955, and was raised in the Bronx in New York City. She attended the Bronx High School of Science and went on to graduate from Yale University in 1976 and Columbia University Law School in...
. Spitzer won re-election, this time with 66 percent of the vote.
In 2004, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
endorsed Spitzer as a possible Democratic candidate for vice president, stating that he was 'the single most effective battler against corporate abuses in either political party'. He was, however, not chosen.
Gubernatorial campaign
On December 8, 2004, Spitzer announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for governor of New York. While long rumored, Spitzer's announcement was unusually early—nearly two years before the election. As a result of Spitzer's relative speed in bringing state Democrats to his side, he gained the respect of Democratic leaders nationwide. New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
Governor Bill Richardson dubbed Spitzer the "future of the Democratic Party" at a fund raiser held in June 2005 for Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign.
In January 2006, Spitzer selected New York State Senate minority leader David Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
as his choice for Lieutenant Governor and running mate. After announcing his candidacy, Spitzer was endorsed by numerous New Yorkers, including state Comptroller Alan Hevesi
Alan Hevesi
Alan G. Hevesi is a Democratic politician whoserved as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as Comptroller of the City of New York from 1994 to 2001, and as State Comptroller for the State of New York from 2003 to 2006...
and two former New York City mayors, David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
and Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
. On May 30, 2006, Spitzer and Paterson won the endorsement of the New York State Democratic party. A June 2006 Quinnipiac University poll
Quinnipiac University Poll
The Quinnipiac University Poll is an opinion poll research operated by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut...
showed him leading Nassau
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
county executive
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...
Thomas Suozzi
Thomas Suozzi
Thomas R. "Tom" Suozzi was the county executive of Nassau County, New York. He was first elected to the post of county executive in 2001, the first Democratic county executive since Eugene Nickerson left office in 1971.In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic...
76-13 percent. On July 25, 2006, he faced Suozzi in a gubernatorial debate held at Pace University
Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
in Manhattan, discussing issues such as public authorities and Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
. When asked about marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, Spitzer stated that he disagrees with medicinal use of the drug, claiming that other medicines were more effective. In the Democratic primary held on September 12, 2006, Spitzer handily defeated Suozzi, securing his party's nomination with 81 percent of the vote.
On October 5, Spitzer, addressing the Empire State Pride Agenda
Empire State Pride Agenda
The Empire State Pride Agenda is a statewide political advocacy organization in New York that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights, including same-sex marriage. ESPA was founded in 1990 through the merger of the New York State Gay and Lesbian Lobby and the Friends and...
, declared that as governor he would work to legalize gay marriage in New York.
Spitzer was elected Governor on November 7, 2006, with 69 percent of the vote, defeating Republican John Faso
John Faso
John Faso was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 2006, and was defeated by Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer in the largest defeat for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. This followed his loss to Alan Hevesi four years earlier in his run for State Comptroller...
and Libertarian
Libertarian Party of New York
The Libertarian Party of New York is a political party in the United States active in the state of New York. It is the recognized affiliate of the national Libertarian Party....
John Clifton, among others.
Work as Attorney General
As Attorney General, Spitzer stepped up the profile of the office. Traditionally, state attorneys general have pursued consumer rights cases, concentrating on local fraudFraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
while deferring national issues to the United States Government. Breaking with this traditional deference, Spitzer took up civil actions and criminal prosecutions relating to corporate white-collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
crime, securities fraud, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
fraud, and environmental protection.
A number of economists, lawyers and political analysts have commented on Spitzer's active role in public policy debates. The New York Attorney General's office has Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
(and thus many leading corporate and financial institutions) within its jurisdiction. Also, the New York Attorney General wields greater than usual powers of investigation and prosecution of corporations under New York State's General Business Law. In particular, under the Martin Act
Martin Act
The Martin Act, New York General Business Law article 23-A, sections 352-353,is a 1921 piece of legislation in New York that gives extraordinary powers and discretion to an attorney general fighting financial fraud. People called in for questioning during Martin Act investigations do not have a...
of 1921, the New York Attorney General has the power to subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
witnesses and company documents pertaining to investigations of fraud or illegal activity by a corporation. Spitzer used this statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
to allow his office to prosecute cases which have been described as within federal jurisdiction.
In January 2005, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce is an American lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United States government....
described Spitzer's approach as "the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation we've seen in this country in modern times".
Spitzer used this authority in his civil actions against corporations and criminal prosecutions against their officers. It proved useful in the wake of several U.S. corporate scandal
Corporate scandal
A corporate scandal is a scandal involving allegations of unethical behavior by people acting within or on behalf of a corporation. A corporate scandal sometimes involves accounting fraud of some sort...
s that began with the collapse of Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
in 2001. Several of these corporations, as well as the brokerage houses that sold their stock, were accused of having inflated stock values by unethical means throughout the 1990s. When inquiries into these allegations by the SEC and Congress failed, Spitzer's office used its subpoena power to obtain corporate documents, building cases against the firms both in courtrooms and in public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
.
Notable cases
In addition to prosecutions and civil actions in the financial sector, Spitzer has pursued cases in both state and federal courts involving pollution, entertainment, technology, prostitution, corruption, occupational safety and health and other fields in which New York plays a part in setting and maintaining national standards of conduct.Loan investigation
The New York State Senate Investigations committee is considering investigating a controversial multi-million dollar loan the governor’s father Bernard SpitzerBernard Spitzer
Bernard Spitzer is an American real estate developer and philanthropist in New York City who built several landmark buildings around the city including The Corinthian which was the largest individual apartment building in New York City when it was built. Spitzer is father of former New York...
gave him when he ran for attorney general in 1998, a loan the younger Spitzer has paid back. Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner told The New York Post that subpoenas should be used to find out about the loans. Winner wrote to Senate Elections Committee Chairman Senator Joseph Griffo
Joseph Griffo
Joseph A. “Joe” Griffo of Rome, New York is currently a New York State Senator representing the 47th district. The 47th district encompasses all of Lewis County, most of Oneida County, and St. Lawrence County.-Early life:...
that an article profiling Spitzer in New York Magazine "outlined what may have been a willful effort by Eliot Spitzer and his father to circumvent campaign-contribution limits in New York state law and then conceal their actions." In 1998, Spitzer claimed that he secured the $5 million loan by mortgaging
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
apartments his father had given him, but later revealed that his father was actually paying off the loans and, therefore, financing his campaign.
Governorship
At the traditional midnight ceremony, Spitzer was sworn in as governor of New York on January 1, 2007. A public ceremony was held at 1 p.m. on the same day which featured brass and percussion players from the Empire State Youth OrchestraEmpire State Youth Orchestra
Empire State Youth Orchestras was founded as a single orchestra in 1979 by a group of dedicated parents and music educators. Today's ESYO consists of nine performing ensembles: two full orchestras, a wind orchestra, a string ensemble, two jazz ensembles, and three percussion ensembles...
Bucking tradition, the ceremony was held outdoors – the first outdoor inauguration ceremony in New York for over a century. After taking the oath of office, he attended a concert at the Times Union Center in his honor, headlined by James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
and Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
.
Roadblocks to reform
Spitzer's reform-based platform, and his pledge "to change the ethics of AlbanyAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
", hit an early roadblock when his ideas on how to fill vacancies in the executive department were defeated by the state legislature. According to the New York State Constitution, it is the duty of the state legislature to fill executive vacancies. The governor was criticized as unreasonable for admonishing the legislature when it took constitutional actions. The appointment of state assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli
Thomas DiNapoli
Thomas P. DiNapoli is the 54th Comptroller of the state of New York. He is a former state assemblyman in New York, who was appointed as New York State Comptroller on February 7, 2007. He was formerly the Chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. DiNapoli is a Democrat from...
to succeed the disgraced Alan Hevesi
Alan Hevesi
Alan G. Hevesi is a Democratic politician whoserved as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as Comptroller of the City of New York from 1994 to 2001, and as State Comptroller for the State of New York from 2003 to 2006...
as Comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
of the State of New York was a serious blow to the new governor. Spitzer had backed an outside panel to draft a list of qualified candidates; the legislature resisted Spitzer's desires when these included no legislators. Some Assembly Democrats were alienated over the incident, and questioned Spitzer's refusal of extending patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
to party members seeking local political appointments.
Spitzer's choice was New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark
Martha Stark
Martha Stark was the Finance Commissioner of New York City. A tax attorney, she served as Finance Commissioner in the Cabinet of Mayor Michael Bloomberg from 2002 until 2009. She previously worked for the Manhattan Borough President, served as a White House Fellow at the United States Department...
, who was selected by a panel that consisted of former State Comptroller Edward Regan, former State Comptroller Carl McCall
Carl McCall
Herman Carl McCall is a former Comptroller of New York State and was the Democratic candidate for state governor in 2002. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for numerous corporations. He received a B.A. degree from Dartmouth...
and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin
Harrison J. Goldin
Harrison Jay Goldin is a lawyer and former New York politician. He served as New York City Comptroller from 1974 to 1989. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1973 and ran in the 1989 Democratic Primary election for Mayor of New York...
. On February 7, 2007, when the Legislature voted, Stark was one of two names put into nomination, along with Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli of Long Island, Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver
Sheldon Silver
Sheldon "Shelly" Silver is an American lawyer and Democratic politician from New York. He has held the office of Speaker of the New York State Assembly since 1994.- Personal life :...
's choice. The final vote was 150 for DiNapoli and 56 for Stark. Stark's main support came from Democrats in the Senate, along with Republicans in both chambers.
Spitzer traveled to the home districts of Democratic assemblymen William B. Magnarelli and George S. Latimer (in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and Westchester County respectively), and publicly criticized them for their votes on DiNapoli; he had plans to exert similar pressure on other of his party's legislators.
One of Spitzer's key campaign pledges was to reform the state budget process. While the state did pass a budget on schedule in 2007, the ultimate results fell short of what many reformers hoped Spitzer would achieve. The New York Post opined, "Spitzer promised reform, and delivered something completely different" and termed the budget itself "bitterly disappointing."
Spitzer's budget quickly turned into a deficit, as by the end of October it was projected the state would run a deficit exceeding $4 billion for the year. During Spitzer's first year the state payroll increased, aggravating budget problem. Despite increasing the public sector payroll, in late 2007 New York State started leading the nation in lost jobs. The 2008-09 budget includes measures to counter financial effects of the crisis in the financial sector starting in the second half of 2007.
Spitzer was criticized by members of the New York State Legislature for failing to compromise on issues during his first few months as governor. In one exchange, according to The New York Post, Spitzer told New York State Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco
James Tedisco
James Nicholas "Jim" Tedisco is an American politician. He is the Republican New York State assemblyman from the 110th District, and was the Assembly's Minority Leader from November 2005 until April 2009. He has served in the Assembly since 1983...
: "Listen, I'm a f - - -king [hyphens sic on Post website] steamroller and I'll roll over you and anybody else", although they reported that neither party had provided the confirmation the Post sought. Spitzer's reputation as a "steamroller" was shared by a plurality of New Yorkers in a Quinnipiac University poll
Quinnipiac University Poll
The Quinnipiac University Poll is an opinion poll research operated by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut...
, but by a 3 to 1 margin they believed the tactic had been unsuccessful and had only added to political gridlock.
Tedisco later accused Spitzer of cutting $300,000 of state funding for health care and education grants in the Schenectady area as retaliation for Tedisco's opposition to the Spitzer plan to allow illegal immigrants New York State driver's licenses. Tedisco accused the Governor of "dirty tricks" and "bullying".
In the wake of the controversy involving the political surveillance controversy
Eliot Spitzer political surveillance controversy
The Eliot Spitzer political surveillance scandal broke out on July 23, 2007 when New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office admonished Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's administration for ordering the State Police to create special records of Senate majority leader Joseph L...
involving Bruno, Spitzer was accused of pandering to special interest groups to solidify his base of support. "The governor who took office vowing to clean up Albany has lost so much public support that he is reduced to feathering the nest of the unions and other liberals
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
", wrote Michael Goodwin of the Daily News.
In February 2008, the Washington Post published an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
written by Spitzer in which he criticized the Bush Administration for inhibiting States from pursuing predatory lender
Predatory lending
Predatory lending describes unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices of some lenders during the loan origination process. While there are no legal definitions in the United States for predatory lending, an audit report on predatory lending from the office of inspector general of the FDIC broadly...
s.
Proposal to legalize same-sex marriage
In April 2007, Spitzer proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in New YorkSame-sex marriage in New York
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of New York became legal on July 24, 2011, under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed on June 24, 2011, by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day...
. State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno announced his opposition to the proposal. This legislation passed in the State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
on June 19, 2007, but was denied in the State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
and was returned to the Assembly.
Controversy over use of State Police for surveillance
On July 23, 2007, New York State Attorney GeneralNew York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
's office admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the State Police to keep special records of Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City. At the direction of top officials of the Spitzer administration, the New York State Police
New York State Police
The New York State Police is the state police force of over 4,600 sworn Troopers for the state of New York. It was established on April 11, 1917 by the New York Legislature, in response to the 1913 murder of a construction foreman named Sam Howell in Westchester County, which at that time did not...
created documents meant to cause political damage to Bruno.
A 57-page report issued by the Attorney General's office concluded that Spitzer engaged in creating media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel. The investigation looked into both Bruno's travel and the Senate leader's allegation that Spitzer used State Police to spy on him. Cuomo concluded that "These e-mails show that persons in the governor's office did not merely produce records under a Freedom of Information Law request, but were instead engaged in planning and producing media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel on state aircraft before any FOIL request was made." It also suggests that the governor's staff lied when they tried to explain what they had done and forced the State Police to go far beyond their normal procedures in documenting Bruno's whereabouts.
The report cleared Bruno of any misuse of the state's air fleet, which had been alleged. The report criticized Spitzer's office for using State Police resources to gather information about Bruno's travel and releasing the information to the media. The findings of the report were endorsed by Spitzer’s own Inspector General, Kristine Hamann.
Spitzer responded at a July 23 press conference that "As governor, I am accountable for what goes on in the executive branch and I accept responsibility for the actions of my office" and that his administration had "grossly mishandled" the situation. Spitzer subsequently announced that he would indefinitely suspend his communications director, Darren Dopp, and reassign another top official. When questioned about his promise to bring ethical responsibility to state politics, Spitzer responded by saying "I will not tolerate this behavior", "ethics and accountability must and will remain rigorous in my administration," and that "I have always stated that I want ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of my administration. That is why I requested that the State Inspector General review the allegations with respect to my office, and that is why we have fully cooperated with both inquiries."
The investigations of the event, dubbed "Troopergate" by media outlets, have not been affected by Spitzer's resignation. As of March 2008, four probes by the state Attorney General's office, the State Senate Investigations Committee, the Albany County District Attorney's Office, and the New York Commission on Public Integrity are ongoing.
Controversy over driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants
On September 21, 2007, Spitzer issued an executive order directing that state offices allow undocumented immigrants to be issued driver's licenses effective December 2007. Applicants for driver's licenses would not be required to prove legal immigration status and would be allowed to present a foreign passportPassport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
as identification. After meeting with the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
in October 2007, Spitzer altered the plan so that licenses issued to migrant workers would look different from other licenses and that the new licenses would not allow access to airplanes and federal buildings.
On October 21, 2007, the State Senate voted to oppose the Spitzer plan by a 39–19 vote. Eight Democrats from moderate districts broke with Spitzer on the vote. After the vote, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called this issue "Mr. Spitzer’s single most unpopular decision since he took office."
Following the State Senate's vote, Spitzer revised his plan again, proposing the issuance of a third type of driver's license. This driver's license would be available only to United States citizens who are New York State residents, and would be valid for crossing the Canadian border. Spitzer also announced that the expiration dates of temporary visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s would be printed on the driver's licenses of individuals living in the country with them.
On November 14, the day following the release of a poll showing the proposal as extremely unpopular with voters, Spitzer announced he would withdraw the plan, acknowledging that it would never be implemented. The decision drew derision from the press, as the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
termed this reversal a "surrender." WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
labeled him "Governor Flip-Flop." State Senator Rubén Díaz of the Bronx said he was "betrayed" by Spitzer's abandonment of the plan.
Approval as Governor
As of November 13, 2007, Spitzer's approval rating as governor was 33 percent, a further decline from his 44% approval rating of October 24, 2007. A later poll showed that New York City Mayor Michael BloombergMichael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
would defeat Spitzer were he to seek reelection. Two polls in December 2007 showed further erosion in Spitzer's public standing.
Prostitution scandal
On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that Spitzer had previously patronized a high-priced prostitutionProstitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
service called Emperors Club VIP
Emperors Club VIP
Emperors Club VIP was an international escort agency based in New York City, founded in 2004 by Mark Brener and Cecil Suwal and operated from the bank accounts of QAT Consulting Group, Inc., and QAT International, Inc...
and met for over two hours with a $1,000-an-hour call girl going by the name Ashley Alexandra Dupré
Ashley Alexandra Dupré
Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro better known by the stage name Ashley Alexandra Dupré, is a former call girl. She is currently an American sex columnist for the New York Post and a singer. She became a public figure when it was disclosed that she was the woman at the center of the Eliot Spitzer...
(legal name Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro, born Ashley Youmans). This information originally came to the attention of authorities from a federal
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
wiretap
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
. Spitzer had at least seven or eight liaisons with women from the agency over six months, and paid more than $15,000. According to published reports, investigators believe Spitzer paid up to $80,000 for prostitutes over a period of several years while he was Attorney General, and later as Governor. Spitzer first drew the attention of federal investigators when his bank reported suspicious money transfers, which initially led investigators to believe that Spitzer may have been hiding bribe proceeds. The investigation of the governor led to the discovery of the prostitution ring.
Resignation
In the wake of the revelations, Spitzer announced on March 12, 2008 that he would resign his post as Governor effective at noon of March 17, 2008, amid threats of his impeachmentImpeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
by state lawmakers.
"I cannot allow for my private failings to disrupt the people's work," Spitzer said at a news conference in New York City. "Over the course of my public life, I have insisted– I believe correctly– that people take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor."
Post-resignation developments
On July 16, 2008, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
made public that Spitzer used campaign funds to pay for two Mayflower Hotel
Mayflower Hotel
The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, known locally as simply The Mayflower, is a historic hotel in downtown Washington, DC located on Connecticut Avenue NW, two blocks north of Farragut Square . It is the largest luxury hotel in the U.S. capital and the longest continuously operating hotel in the...
bookings, $411.06 apiece, where he was suspected to have met with prostitutes. While it remains unclear if Spitzer actually stayed in the hotel on the nights he booked, The Times has stated that Spitzer met with prostitutes in early 2008. Spitzer declined to comment on the issue.
According to an article published on July 23, 2008 in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the state ethics committee is continuing their investigation into his administration's handling of travel records. If found guilty of wrongdoing, he faces a maximum $10,000 fine. The Times also reported that federal investigators are still debating on whether or not to bring about criminal charges against Spitzer for his involvement in the prostitution scandal. Spitzer has declined to comment on the recent developments.
In November 2008, prosecutors in charge of the case announced that Spitzer would not face criminal charges for his involvement in the sex ring citing they found no evidence of misuse of public funds and therefore pressing charges would not serve the public interest. Spitzer offered an apology for his conduct saying "I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed."
Post-resignation media and public appearances
Since resigning, Spitzer has become a regular columnist for SlateSlate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
and slowly begun a return to the limelight. Close friends have stated that Spitzer spends most of his time with his family, and regularly meets with lawyers in his father Bernard's real estate office
Bernard Spitzer
Bernard Spitzer is an American real estate developer and philanthropist in New York City who built several landmark buildings around the city including The Corinthian which was the largest individual apartment building in New York City when it was built. Spitzer is father of former New York...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Spitzer and his wife have entered couples therapy because of Spitzer's adultery.
In September 2008, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that Spitzer was considering entering philanthropic, environmental
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
, or pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
legal work
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in an effort to improve his reputation. According to some sources, Spitzer was considering a run for Senate
United States Senate special election in New York, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate special election in New York took place on November 2, 2010, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections...
or Comptroller
New York Comptroller election, 2010
The New York comptroller election of 2010 involved the first election campaign of Democrat Thomas DiNapoli for the Office of State Comptroller. DiNapoli was appointed as comptroller by a joint session of the New York State Legislature on February 7, 2007...
in 2010, speculation which Spitzer immediately dismissed.
Spitzer continued to make public appearances and engage in media commitments following his resignation. The Washington Post published a Spitzer opinion piece in November 2008 conveying his analysis of the financial crisis of 2008 and suggested remedies. Spitzer concluded the piece by saying that he hoped the Obama Administration would make the right policy choices, "although mistakes I made in my private life now prevent me from participating in these issues as I have in the past." The following month, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
magazine published the first of a new series of columns by Spitzer dedicated to the economy.
In September 2009, Spitzer joined the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
as an adjunct instructor of political science and is currently teaching an undergraduate course called "Law and Public Policy."
Spitzer took on various public speaking arrangements, beginning with a discussion with the New York chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization
Entrepreneurs' Organization
The Entrepreneurs' Organization is a global non-profit organization, whose stated mission is to "Engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow." EO was formerly known as YEO .- Founding Members :...
on June 17, 2009. He also made a number of television appearances in 2009 and 2010, including Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher is a talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous show, Politically Incorrect on ABC , Real Time features a panel of guests that discuss current events in politics and the media...
and Campbell Brown
Campbell Brown
Campbell Brown is an American television news reporter and anchor. She previously hosted an eponymous primetime show on CNN and was formerly co-anchor of NBC's Weekend Today...
, as well as appearing as a substitute anchor on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. On June 24, 2010, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
announced that Spitzer would be joining the network to host a "round-table" discussion program alongside center-right Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker is an American syndicated columnist. Her columns are syndicated nationally by The Washington Post. Parker is a consulting faculty member at the Buckley School of Public Speaking, and is a regular guest on television shows like The O'Reilly Factor and The Chris Matthews Show....
. Parker Spitzer, compared by some media outlets to the defunct Crossfire
Crossfire (TV series)
Crossfire was a current events debate television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal pundit and a conservative pundit.-Format:...
, replaced Campbell Brown in the 8:00 p.m. ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
timeslot on weeknights starting in October. In February 2011, CNN announced that Parker was leaving the show, which was renamed In the Arena on February 28, 2011. On July 6, 2011, CNN announced it was canceling In the Arena and shifting Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....
to the 8 p.m. time slot.
See also
- Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot SpitzerClient 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot SpitzerClient 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer is a documentary directed by Alex Gibney about former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and the sex scandal that derailed his political career...
External links
Nonpartisan:- Follow the Money - Eliot L Spitzer 2006 campaign contributions
- On the Issues - Eliot Spitzer issue positions and quotes
Biographies and profiles:
- National Governors Association - New York Governor Eliot Spitzer
- "TIME Crusader of the Year 2002: Eliot Spitzer", by Adi Ignatius, December 21, 2002 issue of Time Magazine
- "Eliot Spitzer - How New York's attorney general became the most powerful man on Wall Street" – Profile by Daniel Gross from SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
s "Assessment" column, October 21, 2004 - "Corruption probe hits US insurers" – BBC News, 15 October 2004.
- "Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer" by Brooke A. Masters (Times Books, July 2006)
- "The Small Laws: Eliot Spitzer and the Way to Insurance Market Reform," by Sean M. Fitzpatrick, 74 Fordham L. Rev. 3041 (2006)
- "Power Couples" profile in 021380213802138 was an independent magazine founded by Bom Kim and purchased by David Bradley; it featured graduates of Harvard University. The publication was, however, not actually affiliated with Harvard. The title is a reference to the ZIP code of Harvard University's main campus in Harvard Square,...
, October 2006.
Interviews:
- Frontline: The Wall Street Fix – from the PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
-series Frontline, dated April 16, 2003. - NOW with Bill Moyers: New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer – Streaming video and transcripts of Spitzer's multiple interviews on the PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series NOW with Bill Moyers. - "The Pollution Buster" – Interview with Elizabeth Kolbert in Fall 2004 issue of OnEarth Magazine, publication of the Natural Resources Defense CouncilNatural Resources Defense CouncilThe Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...
- Eliot Spitzer: Geithner, Bernanke "Complicit" in Financial Crisis and Should Go - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Big Think Interview With Eliot Spitzer – video interview with BigThink.com, dated January 28, 2010.
Media coverage:
- New York Times - Eliot L. Spitzer collected news stories and commentary
- Breaking Legal News - Eliot L. Spitzer Collection of News of Eliot Spitzer
- "Corruption probe hits US insurers" – BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
coverage of Spitzer's probe of insurance industry practices, October 15, 2004. - "Spitzer targets music companies" – BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
coverage of Spitzer's prosecution of payola, October 22, 2004 - Greg Palast, Eliot's Mess
- Greg Palast interview on Spitzer scandal timing
Critics: Greg Palast
- Attorney General Watch – blog of the American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise InstituteThe American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, a conservativeConservatismConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
think tankThink tankA think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, critical of Eliot Spitzer and other state attorneys general. - "Not Spitzer's Job" – article by Alan ReynoldsAlan ReynoldsAlan Reynolds is one of the original supply side economists.He is currently Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and was formerly Director of Economic Research at the Hudson Institute...
, senior fellow of the Cato InstituteCato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, a libertarianLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
think-tank. Reprinted from The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal.... - The Passion of Eliot Spitzer: Is he telling the truth as he tries to "take people out"? by Kimberley A. Strassel, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, May 2006 - Eliot Spitzer's Real Agenda... is Eliot Spitzer By Kimberley A. Strassel, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, May 2006 - "Power Corrupts: Elliot
[sic Spitzer’s Record as N.Y. Attorney General"] By Alan Reynolds, Cato-at-liberty, March 8, 2008.
Reports: