What's Next for Spitzer?
New York governor facing legal challenges for alleged ties to prostitution ring.
The American Lawyer
By Brian Baxter
March 10, 2008
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer faces daunting legal challenges stemming from his alleged involvement in a high-priced prostitution ring, as reported by The New York Times earlier today. But sources say state law does not require that the governor step down even if he is indicted. The potential for that eventuality is significant given the allegations against Spitzer so far.
While the governor is not likely to face federal charges on his involvement with a prostitute, according to Roscoe Howard, Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 2001 to 2004, Spitzer is at risk over allegedly transferring funds via interstate commerce and thus helping to further a criminal enterprise. Prostitution charges are possible under state law, he says. (Spokespersons at both the New York County district attorney's office and the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment for this article on possible legal actions against the governor.)
"Both ends of [prostitution] are always prosecutable," says Howard, now a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Troutman Sanders. What complicates the matter for the governor is the Mann Act of 1910, which prohibits the interstate transport of women for "immoral purposes." Spitzer is an alleged client of the high-priced service Emperors Club VIP and is referred to as "Client-9" in the federal affidavit released today. According to the affidavit, Client-9 was caught on a federal wiretap requesting that a woman travel from New York to Washington, where Client-9 had a room at an unnamed hotel.
Details in the affidavit indicate that the woman was a prostitute who collected $4,300 from Client-9. That disclosure could be particularly devastating to Spitzer, says former U.S. attorney Howard, who notes that in Washington, D.C., which is not a state, federal prosecutors handle prostitution cases. That could open Spitzer up to prostitution charges in D.C., as well.
Spitzer did not deny the allegations and apologized both to the public and to his family in a short statement made shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Flanking the governor was his wife, Silda, a former Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom associate whom he met while they both attended Harvard Law School. (Spitzer served stints as a lawyer at Skadden and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.)
In the state capitol the mood was one of "complete shock," according to Patricia Salkin, a professor of law and director of the government law center at Albany Law School. "[Spitzer] ran on an ethics platform and it's just hard to imagine that somebody in their right mind would do this," Salkin says. "It really is a tragedy."
If a rumored impending resignation does in fact occur, state laws dictate that current lieutenant governor and former Queens County assistant district attorney David Paterson would assume the office of governor. This scenario would then present New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno with the opportunity to step in as acting governor whenever Paterson travels out of state. That's an interesting dynamic considering all the fighting over ethics that has been going on between Spitzer and Bruno, says Salkin, citing the governor's request to investigate Bruno's alleged travel improprieties. Also, Salkin adds, the Democratic-Republican divide in the state senate--now a near-even split--might shift with a change in leadership.
