March 10, 2008

Eliot Spitzer linked to prostitution ring, will resign

[UPDATE: Fox News reports he will resign. In his press conference he didn't say anything about that, but another event is set for 7pm NY time.

UPDATE 2: Mob links? This says it's in the court papers (PDF link), but a quick scan didn't bring anything up. That would indeed take this to the whole other level. Also, feel free to speculate on what "unsafe" activities Spitz apparently wanted to engage in. Perhaps he wanted her to play a "grateful" recipient of one of his driver's licenses/Motor Voter forms, or something.

UPDATE 3: This page shows that Spritzler had patronized their organization at least once before and had a $400 credit.

UPDATE 4: See the Hillary Clinton info below.

UPDATE 5: The feds weren't originally investigating the prostitution ring, but suspicious money transfers involving Spitzer, thinking he was on the take.

UPDATE 6: Ready for some mental dumpster diving? Jane Hamsher has questions. And, they're slightly coherent.

UPDATE 7: I don't want to link to "Spitzer Resigns From Emperors VIP Club", but I guess I just did. Also, "Aides Say They Expect Spitzer to Resign" (link), and Scott Horton has "A Few More Questions". It's all a VRWC conspiracy, at least in his mind.

UPDATE 8: It gets even better, believe it or don't: "Aide: Spitzer May Defy Calls To Step Down" (link). Could Unsafe Eliott be a GOP mole?]

Normally, I avoid things like this, but:

[New York governor] Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.

Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides inside his Fifth Avenue apartment early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He scheduled an announcement for 2:15 after inquiries from the Times...

The governor's travel records show that he was in Washington in mid-February. One of the clients described in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, the Emperors Club VIP on the night of Feb. 13.

Mr. Spitzer appeared on a CNBC television show at 7 a.m. the next morning. Later in the morning, he testified before a Congressional committee...

He's referred to as "Client 9" in court papers.

The "corruption fighter" was a client of Emperor's Clup VIP (emperorsclubvip.com), which now says the site has been disabled. Whether that was due to court action or the site owner's decision isn't known. An older copy can be found here: http://web.archive.org/web/20070820093133/http://www.emperorsclubvip.com/

UPDATE: Part of the court papers - not mentioning Spitzer - are here. A story on that is here:

"Raquel," who worked in New York and LA, was described as "an avid writer, actress and journalist."

Regarding the last, how could anyone tell?

HILLARIOUS UPDATE: Via this we learn that Spitser has been removed from Hillary's list of endorsers (hillaryclinton.com/news/endorsements). However, their web minions haven't been as thorough as they might hope, since there's still a blog post about the endorsement (hillaryclinton.com/blog/print/?id=5768), even including the following photo. And, it's also listed as an event (hillaryclinton.com/actioncenter/event/view/?id=1070&sc=8).

eliot spitzer hillary clinton

When that picture goes away, you'll know they've completely erased the record. Thankfully, I saved a copy.

Earlier:
Felipe Calderon greets Eliot Spitzer on his recent visit
Eliot Spitzer drops driver's licenses for illegal aliens (Hillary updates position)
Rasmussen poll: 77% oppose driver's licenses for illegal aliens
Spitzer supporter: "You made me make a fool out of myself" (details on his switch)
New York Times to Eliot Spitzer: die on the driver's licenses for illegal aliens hill
Feds strike deal on Eliot Spitzer driver's licenses for illegal aliens (victory or defeat?)
Spitzer driver's licenses and illegal aliens voting (Motor Voter)
Richard Clarke endorses Spitzer license scheme; opposed DLs for illegal aliens in June
Smoking gun emails: Spitzer retaliated against opponent of his driver's license scheme
72% oppose Spitzer driver's licenses for illegal aliens; lowest rating ever
9/11 Commish: al Qaeda "will be able to come to New York" with Spitzer driver's licenses
New York Immigration Coalition supports Spitzer driver's licenses for illegal aliens plan
Michael Bloomberg, DHS against Spitzer illegal aliens driver's licenses plan
New York county clerks oppose Spitzer on driver's licenses for illegal aliens

Posted to Politics at March 10, 2008 11:32 AM