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Former New York AG on the Other Side of Investigation
Nine months ago, Eliot Spitzer was a shining star in the Democratic Party with a sterling career as a Wall Street-busting Attorney General, a landslide gubernatorial victory and a promise to bring ethics back to New York politics. That was then.
Now, a plan by his senior staffers to smear a top State Republican has backfired after findings from an investigation by the state’s Attorney General -- Democrat Andrew Cuomo -- were published this week. (You can get the report here [pdf]). Spitzer's office supplied false information to reporters, obtained with the help of the Police Superintendent, under the auspices of a Freedom of Information Letter (FOIL) request. The information was used in a July 1st article in the Times Union of Albany attacking State Senator Joseph Bruno’s (R) use of government planes to attend political events. Bruno, the Senate majority leader, is Spitzer's chief political adversary. (The published report clears Bruno of all charges of ethics violations.)
After the Times Union article was published, Spitzer's communications director Daren Dopp maintained that Bruno’s travel records were provided in response to a FOIL request from the paper. However, according to the Attorney General’s report, a FOIL request was submitted only three days before the article was submitted, with a second request--asking for information that was already contained in the article--coming on July 10th.
The report says that in January the Governor changed the procedure through which senior politicians could request use of state aircraft, requiring applicants to personally verify what purpose the travel served. By May, Spitzer’s staff was looking to use this new policy to embarrass Sen. Bruno, and then began gathering information on his travels. Spitzer’s police liaison, William Howard, placed several calls to the acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton.
Felton was told to respond to a FOIL request regarding information on the travel schedules of Bruno. He took over the process personally. Felton gathered information on the senator's flight plans. He had police escorts assigned to the senator submit written reports listing everywhere they stopped. He fed scheduling information directly to Howard. And when records didn’t exist, he asked those in attendance to search their memory and write down synopses.
Needless to say, the report confirms that the vast majority of the collected information is outside the scope of a FOIL request, and certainly such a request should never necessitate the creation of new documents. Felton himself had never actually handled a FOIL report, making it difficult to discern if he was driven by malice or sheer incompetence. And that's precisely what is at issue. During his investigation, the Attorney General interviewed three superintendents who preceded Felton. According to those interviews:
The three immediately past Superintendents of the State Police, who collectively represent over twenty years of service in that position appointed by two Governors, all stated that they had never personally handled a FOIL request and could not imagine doing so.
It is the responsibility of the Central Records Section of the police to respond to FOIL requests, but the Records Access Officer testified that she had never seen or been informed of one on this matter.
Felton is not ignorant of the standard procedure in responding to FOIL requests. Indeed, he testified that he saw the request from the Governor’s office as a direct order. Howard initially denied any role in the requests, claiming that he notified Felton only as a courtesy. But Felton maintains that he spoke only to Howard on the matter, and he arranged all documents without aides.
Dopp and Howard then cherry-picked facts that they turned over to the Times Union. They gave the paper detailed information on three of ten trips taken by Bruno; the three trips just so happened to correspond with well-publicized Republican political events. As other papers called for corroboration, Spitzer’s office stuck to their story that they had appropriately responded to the FOIL request. Only after the report came out did the Governor change his stance; within minutes of its release he dismissed Howard from his position and suspended Dopp indefinitely.
Amazingly, despite its condemnatory language, the Attorney General’s report found no one guilty of any illegal activity. Nor has any evidence come out to directly connect Spitzer with the plot; and he has denied any knowledge of his staff’s actions. To be sure, the investigation continues; the State Ethics Commission is now beginning its own inquiry. Spitzer suggested on Friday that he would allow two senior staffers to testify on the issue if they were subpoenaed. Meanwhile, state Republicans have not ruled out bringing their own investigation. One thing is for sure: whatever the outcome, this case strikes a staggering blow to a once-sterling politician.
Josh
Zachary
When he was NY AG why wouldn't Eliot Spitzer do an independent investigation of 911? When he was presented with a petition that had tens of thousands of signatures of US citizens angry about the Keane-bush crony whitewash 911 "investigation, he played for time for several months and then refused.
Why?
July 30, 2007 4:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good observation, 911. But offpoint to this piece.
I would urge a full-stop and concurrent investigation of State Sen. Bruno.
Just b/c the Gov's office used excessive means to investigate him, it doesn't mean that he isn't corrupt.
- CynicalIdealist
July 30, 2007 4:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I may be naieve but as a lifelong democrate I expect a fair and honest goverment from this wave that was swept in 2006. I see no reason to smear the republicans on falsehoods because they are so corrupt a spotlight on most of them will cause them all the trouble they can handle.
July 30, 2007 9:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=603679&category=STATE&newsdate=7/6/2007
Arrogance all around.
The people of New York ought to strip the lot of them of these perks and put an end to the nonsense.
July 30, 2007 9:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would say 911's observation is NOT offpoint, a full 9/11 investigation would have surely derailed Spitzer's bid for Governor by the can of worms it would have opened. I think it's a fair question to ask why he ignored pleas to investigate 9/11 instead of running for Governor.
Spitzer won the Governer's Mansion on his corporate cleanup credentials alone, why would he want to mess with that?
Even if he creds ARE sterling, I don't see him escaping this one without some tarnish. It sounds to me like they are trying to nail Bruno on a technicality, Spitzer can do beter than that if there really IS something to nail him on. Which at this point it sounds like a stretch if there is, so he abused taxpayer provided transportation for campaign events, is that all Spitzer can find on the guy? And to nail him by changing the reporting rules? Give me a break, and I'm by no means a GOP'r.
I mean Dubya holds some photo op behind a dumpster to sign some bill next to some town's republican headquaters so he can use it as an excuse to use Airforce One, you don't see anyone complaining about that, do you?
July 30, 2007 9:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank God you guys finally wrote about this. You will cover a sex scandal that happens to a minor Republican assemblyman in Montana, but for a week you basically ignored this, a major scandal in New York, that is being investigated by a Democratic attorney general. Pretty pathetic that you waited all this time, but better late than never.
July 30, 2007 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
"A once-sterling politician?" Spitzer sat up in Albany for eight years prosecuting cases under obscure laws while NYS became a sinkhole of corruption. Everyone in Albany knows Charlie Gargano was a modern-day Boss Tweed including Spitzer.
"Do-nothing Spitzer" is what I called him. He is all for show.
July 30, 2007 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bruno is no saint as I believe the real dirt on him lies in his dealings with New York State Racing Assoc. (NYRA) which is the oversight board for horse racing here, and related gifts to/from a business assoc./"friend" of his, David Abbruzzese. This guy has given Bruno a serious cash lifeline and perks for much of Bruno's career so it was a big surprise to see that Spitzer chose to go after something as murky as air travel instead of what would seem obvious to most observers. Oh yeah, Bruno owns a swanky stable in his home district out by the Mass/NY border as well and has been unable to publicly define his relationship with Abbruzzese as either professional or personal. He says it's both and with such an excuse, he proceeds to reap the benefits of both sides of the coin, which allegedly includes usage of Abbruzzese's planes, cars, equine facilities in Saratoga(?) and other perks that would otherwise drag any other pol. down.
Spitzer screwed up here, and it is going to be a mar on his career. Rather unfortunate for someone who has built his career on such big ideals too.
July 30, 2007 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
"the Attorney General’s report found no one guilty of any illegal activity. Nor has any evidence come out to directly connect Spitzer with the plot..."
"One thing is for sure: whatever the outcome, this case strikes a staggering blow..."
Unethical but possibly not illegal activity, of which Spitzer wasn't involved, is a staggering blow? So, we're making Spitzer play the Clinton rules?
July 30, 2007 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
This story is a little -- no a LOT -- too rah-rah, gotcha.
First, it is poorly written. To wit:
"Felton was told to respond to a FOIL request regarding information on the travel schedules of Bruno. Howard took over the process personally. He gathered information on the senator's flight plans. He had police escorts assigned to the senator submit written reports listing everywhere they stopped. He fed scheduling information directly to Howard."
Who is the HE after "Howard took over the process"? Is it Howard, as seems to be indicated, or Felton as in the final sentence, "He fed ... directly to Howard"?
Second, it indicts -- "whatever the outcome, this case strikes a staggering blow to a once-sterling politician" -- where no crime has been implied:
" the Attorney General’s report found no one guilty of any illegal activity. Nor has any evidence come out to directly connect Spitzer with the plot..."
It is less than I've come to expect of TPM.
July 30, 2007 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Joe Bruno is the most corrupt evil Republican in the state, and one of the primary reasons that the WTC site is still an abominable hole in the ground. He's was at the heart of the Rick Lazio campaign against Hillary, during which Lazio raged on live TV at Hillary shaking papers in her face, sealing his political doom. Bruno has been at the heart of most of the horrific depredations on progressive policy in New York State presided over by the Pataki misadministration.
For those complaining about Spitzer's performance in response to 911, please note that within weeks of Spitzer's election as Governor, construction began at the WTC site in earnest. As a reverse commuter in the area, I passed that site every day for months on the way to NJ. Huge rigs sat in the pit unstirring for weeks on end. Now they are finally moving. If anyone should be investigated, it's Pataki. The investigation can boil down to a single, one-line question. "What took so long to start the rebuilding?"
July 30, 2007 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Joe Bruno is the most corrupt evil Republican in the state"
I don't know - Republican State Chair Steve Manarik induces projection vomiting whenever I here his hypocritical, nasty, comments in the news. Its equivalent to having Sean Hannity as a party leader.
July 30, 2007 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will:
Slow down, and take a deep breath. Let it out. Then back up, and gain a little perspective.
Let's start at the beginning. You characterize this as "a plan by [Spitzer's] senior staffers to smear a top State Republican." That is incorrect. A smear is slanderous or false. The charges leveled by Spitzer's aides, while delivered with an excess of hype, were entirely accurate. Joe Bruno really did jet about the state on the public dime, and made absolutely no effort to distinguish between his public and private activities.
Which brings us the second regrettable aspect of this post. You write, regarding Bruno, that "the published report clears Bruno of all charges of ethics violations." That's correct. Later on, you write, concerning Spitzer and his staff, that "amazingly, despite its condemnatory language, the Attorney General’s report found no one guilty of any illegal activity." Gosh, can anyone spot the non-parallel language?
Look, there are two points that need to be made about this incident. The first is that Joe Bruno was waltzing through loopholes in the regulations concerning state-supported travel that were a mile wide. The standard employed makes it almost impossible to prove his trips illegal, but they were certainly unethical, and Bruno damn well knew it. If he didn't, Hevesi's disgrace last year ought to have freshened his memory.
The second is that, in attempting to highlight this unethical behavior, Spitzer's staff crossed an important line, and politicized state law enforcement functions. Again, it would be difficult to prove they acted illegaly, but they certainly behaved in an unethical fashion.
There are no white knights in this entire sordid affair. But let's be clear - at the end of the day, both sets of charges grew out of a torrid debate between the governor and the senator. Both point to problems worth correcting, to loopholes worth plugging, and to behavior worth reprimanding.
But the notion that "this case strikes a staggering blow to a once-sterling politician" is patently absurd. I'm sorry if you've lost a hero, but the man is human, and some stumbles were inevitable. If Spitzer reins in his staff and returns to his past conduct, this entire affair will be forgotten within six months. If he doesn't, then it'll be their new abuses that are remembered. Get a grip.
July 30, 2007 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not all that well-versed in this particular episode, but it strikes me that some here seem to be very quick to dismiss it because it's Democrats, rather than Republicans, who are involved. I'd love to believe that everything here was the work of some unscrupulous staff members and that Spitzer himself had no hand in it. But when staffers for Republicans do similar things, we start with an assumption that their boss either knew what they were doing, encouraged it, or looked the other way. At best, it's discouraging that Democratic staff members, particularly those working for a governor who rode into office under an anti-corruption, pro-ethics banner, would act in this manner. At worst, it's even more discouraging that the governor in question would look the other way.
Ultimately, Spitzer will be measured by whether he cleans house and ensures that something like this never happens again -- and the New York State Democratic Party will be measured by the extent to which it keeps the offenders out of Democratic politics, rather than quietly recycling them as the Republican Party has consistently done with disgraced officials.
July 30, 2007 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is plain and simple a right wing hatchet job meant to tarnish the Democratic Governor of New York. All the trolls posting above confirm it.
There's nothing here, maybe some over zealous work by people who work for Spitzer.
The Republicans are crooks, every last god damned one of them, so of course we must knee cap the elected Democrats for whatever the Drudge report makes up. Logical, no?
July 30, 2007 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Need you all be reminded, who did Eliot Spitzer makes his bones against?
Someone wrote: "Spitzer sat up in Albany for eight years prosecuting cases under obscure laws," fiddling while Rome burned is the sense this comment aimed for, yet it seems to me that what he was doing was bringing the grotesque corporate greed of Wall Street to some sort of heel, since nobody at the Bush controlled SEC or Justice Department showed any inclination whatsoever to rein in the greed of, what is essentially Bush's Controlling Authority, Corporate America.
So spare us the outrage. This is yet again an example of the Right smearing an effective Democrat, and best of all for the amusement of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, getting idiotic Democrats to join in on the fun.
Way to go people, way to fall for the Right Wing Spin and Media Machine.
July 30, 2007 3:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
"A once-sterling politician?" Spitzer sat up in Albany for eight years prosecuting cases under obscure laws while NYS became a sinkhole of corruption. Everyone in Albany knows Charlie Gargano was a modern-day Boss Tweed including Spitzer.
"Do-nothing Spitzer" is what I called him. He is all for show.
Posted by: Nelly Bly
Date: July 30, 2007 9:24 AM
Became a sinkhole of corruption? Does the name William Tweed ring a bell? Obviously, you come from a part of New York State that I've never heard of, because according to what I learned in history class, New York has always been a sinkhole of corruption. AG Spitzer just brought a whole bunch of it into the light where people could see it, and bravo to him for doing so.
As for the current "scandal," I find it hard to believe that somebody like Spitzer would have had anything to do with it. What I've heard was, he fired and reassigned the people the AG's office suspects of wrongdoing, which is exactly what he should have done. He's not covering anything up, nor is he defending the defendants.
You watch. In 2010, he'll be re-elected with 80% of the vote. You heard it here first.
July 30, 2007 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fred Dicker is also reporting today that two more of the Governor's aides were suddenly given "special counsel" status a couple of weeks ago, which allows them to claim attorney-client privilege if asked about any discussions they had with Spitzer about this matter.
Very dismaying for all Dems who, like myself, donated to and supported his reform agenda.
Another embarrassment in this mess is the Times-Union itself, which has tried to act the innocent victim of the Governor's office's media scam.
But from the A.G.'s report, it is difficult not to conclude that the T-U was a willing and complicit partner in this exploit, dutifully providing FOIL requests that provided "cover your ass" material for Spitzer's people. The last of these was particularly clumsily done, coming more than a week after the paper reported on the materials, and retroactively requesting materials they'd already received.
I hate it when the media lends fuel to the right wingers' claims of liberal bias.
July 30, 2007 8:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
How many incompetent leaders do we have that they have no idea what their own senior staff is doing?
Spitzer is suffering from Bush syndrome. Either he's exteremely incompetent or he's involved.
Yes Spitzer is a Dem but if he's a just another Rove then the trash needs to go out. No excuses.
July 30, 2007 10:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
FlyOnTheWall's got it right. However, two things bother me:
I understand that when this broke, two of those involved were suddenly designated special counsels to the Governor, enabling them to avoid testimony under oath (attorney-client privilege) -- suggesting to me that they could have testified that the Governor ordered the study of Bruno's travel activities. It seems to me that the appearance of a cover-up on Sptizer's part is more damaging than an admission that he did something stupid -- he takes the blame, now let's move on.
His apology in the Times on Sunday clearly blames his underlings. If he did order it, then coming clean would have gained him some respect, despite the embarrassment and would have ended the matter. If he didn't order it, then he should allow all involved to testify under oath and clear his name.
Now he's stuck with an endless series of investigations and all the media attention to what NPR has already labeled "Troopergate." While it isn't a devastating blow to what could be a relatively honest, competent and progressive administration, it will be a drag on his efforts during the crucial first year of his term.
July 30, 2007 11:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
The homicide case involving the crime at the WTC on 911 was never investigated. It was Spitzer's job to lead this investigation. His pass on this crime, in his jurisdiction under his leadership is germane.
His character and integrity IS the issue.
July 31, 2007 1:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Any way somebody can do something about the off-topic spam? Including this one?
July 31, 2007 8:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
If members of Gov. Spitzer's staff have indeed violated state ethics law, it is incumbent upon the governor to immediately punish the transgressors and make whatever amends he must to Sen. Bruno, if he is to salvage his reputation as a political straight-arrow.
Frankly, it is completely immaterial to the charge at hand whether or not Sen. Bruno is in fact "corrupt", as previous posters have implied. Any information to that effect that was gained unlawfully by Spitzer's aides is legally inadmissable, and certainly the means by which it was obtained is simply inexcusable for senior staff to a governor.
I've never liked it when Republicans behave in this manner, and as a Democrat I expect far better from members of my own party than this sort of low-brow buffoonery.
July 31, 2007 9:03 AM | Reply | Permalink