Eliot Spitzer resigns after getting caught in a sex scandal
New York, March 12 2008. Eliot Spitzer’s world crumbled in 48 hours. Two days after the New York Times revealed he had been caught in a sex scandal, the New York Governor announced his resignation on Wednesday. Standing next to his stone-faced wife Silda, he said he accepted responsibility for his personal failings. “I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been,” Mr Spitzer said. “There is much more to be done, and I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people’s work.” “I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me,” Eliot Spitzer added. “To every New Yorker, and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize. (…) Over the course of my public life, I have insisted — I believe correctly — that people regardless of their position or power 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.” Eliot Spitzer will be replaced on Monday March 17 by Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who becomes New York’s first black and also first legally blind governor. The scandal that engulfed Mr Spitzer, erupted on Monday, when the New York Times revealed that the Governor was involved in a prostitution ring. He had been identified as the “Client 9″ of the Emperor’s Club, a call-girl agency under federal investigation. His meeting with a high-class prostitute named Kristen in a five-star Washington hotel on February 13 landed on an FBI wiretap. FBI agents in Washington had put Spitzer under surveillance at least twice to confirm that a prostitute joined him at the Mayflower Hotel, according to a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the case who was quoted by AP. Mr Spitzer, a Democrat and one of America’s most prominent politicians, had been given 48 hours to quit or face impeachment by Republican members of the New York state assembly. The pressure for him to resign had kept growing after his brief public apology on Monday afternoon in New York. The New York Post quoting anonymous sources claimed he had spent $80,000 on prostitute and used escort services for 10 years, even while he was investigating prostitution rings as a prosecutor for the State of New York. Eliot Spitzer who made a name for himself as “Mr Clean” and as a tough prosecutor, had to deal with the steamy details of his “rendez-vous” in room 871 of the Mayflower Hotel with Kristen, the high-class prostitute. According to the criminal complaint, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, the alleged booker for the Emperor’s Club, heard from Kristen after her appointment with “Client 9″. Kristen told Mrs Lewis “she thought it went very well”. “Kristen said that she liked him and that she did not think he was difficult,” the complaint said, based on wiretaps. Mrs Lewis had warned the prostitute “Client 9″ might ask her to ” do things that, like, you might not think were safe”. “Kristen” responded: ‘I have a way of dealing with that. . . . I’d be like, ‘Listen, dude. You really want the sex?’ . . . You know what I mean.” Emperors Club was active in America, England and France. The women were rated with between one and seven diamonds which determined their fee. The most valued clients were offered “membership” of the “Icon Club” where fees started at $5,500 an hour. Eliot Spitzer has not been charged in the investigation. U.S. authorities are weighing whether to prosecute him for soliciting and paying for sex. Michael J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, released a statement after Mr. Spitzer’s resignation saying that there is no deal. But the former prosecutor is believed to be negotiating one. Mr. Spitzer, the father of three daughters, ended his speech by saying he would leave politics and did not take questions. “As I leave public life, I will first do what I need to do to help and heal myself and my family,” he said. “Then I will try once again, outside of politics, to serve the common good and to move toward the ideals and solutions which I believe can build a future of hope and opportunity for us and for our children.” Mr Spitzer’s resignation will also have an impact on the Democratic race for the White House. The NY Governor was a superdelegate and had endorsed Hillary Clinton. In her battle against Barack Obama for the Democratic party’s nomination, the former first lady lost a superdelegate. New York / J-C De CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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