I am not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but I have covered enough federal and local court cases to know that the mere hint of impropriety by a federal prosecutor is extremely problematic.
A good example is the Barry Bonds perjury case. The federal prosecutor in that case broke the law and leaked secret grand jury testimony to the members of the press, who wrote about Mr. Bonds' answers at length and even wrote a book about it. The person who leaked the information was prosecuted and convicted. This is what makes it so difficult for the federal government to make its case against Mr. Bonds, even if he did lie.
What isn't being talked about in the fall of the now-resigned governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, is that he was the former attorney general of the state of New York and a former Manhattan district attorney.
Now, the cases he worked as a district attorney are probably safe. But his most recent cases when he was attorney general may not be, depending on how far back his alleged money-laundering scheme to pay for his encounters with prostitutes goes. The federal indictment says that the investigation started a year ago based on IRS inquiries into irregularities.
It may be a long shot, but anyone prosecuted by Eliot Spitzer has to be thinking that they have a good chance at an appeal, because criminals cannot prosecute criminals, and the first in line would be any of those Wall Street millionaires whom he took down in the last three or four years.
New York could soon be drowning in appeals and court expenses. Mr. Spitzer's resignation could be only the beginning of the state's troubles.
— Brian DeBose, national political reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (2)
Blacks 4 Barack
(A Multi-Racial Org.)
Announces:
The 'WE WILL NOT BE CHEATED'
Phone Campaign To DNC !
Out of desperation, the Clinton campaign has stooped to extreme lows by having surrogate Geraldine Ferraro in the media making racist statements against Barack Obama combined with prompting the media to attempt to chastise Obama for rhetoric spewd by not him....but by his preacher! Realistically speaking, it is a fact that even if Hillary wins Pennsylvania there is absolutely no way she can get enough delegate votes to defeat Obama. And her BIG ploy now is to have a 're-do' in Michigan and Florida, despite the fact that this would be a changing of the rules in the middle of the game which should not be allowed. (rules that Howard Dean of the DNC, Harold Ickes, a chief Hillary advisor and Donna Brazil a regular on CNN who never exposes that she helped set the rules in August of 2007 as a member of the DNC Laws and ByLaws Committee)
If allowed to have the rules changed for her benefit, Hillary then hopes that, after stealing the nomination, she will offer Obama the V.P. slot....figuring that if he excepts, Obama supporters will vote for her....while if he does not....she would at least look like she offered the slot. THIS IS UNEXCEPTABLE !
Hillary Clinton's (and the DNC's)coniving tactics will end up ruining the Democratic Party. Now is the time to let Howard Dean, Donna Brazil, Harold Ickes and the entire DNC know that if Hillary wins through ANY methods deemed trickery (which is the only way she can win) WE....THE PEOPLE WILL NOT SUPPORT HER IN THE GENERAL ELECTION !
National radio talk show host Warren Ballentine is asking EVERYONE to call the DNC at 202-863-8000 to let them know 'We Will Not Support A Cheater !'
We need 50 thousand Americans of all ages, races and creeds to FLOOD THE PHONES !!! Call Today !!!! 202-863-8000. Say It Loud....WE WILL NOT SUPPORT A CHEATER.....PERIOD!!! Tell everyone you know to make this call. The Time Is NOW....for the Re-Birth of America !!!!
NOTE: The Media refuses to inform America that OBAMA WON TEXAS !!!!!
Visit: www.Blacks4Barack.org
(A Multi-Racial Organization)
Posted by Greg Jones | March 14, 2008 7:57 PM
Brian, you raise a very important issue here. It is unfortunate that no one else in the media is talking about this. Clearly, the sex piece is what sells. The real crime here is the millions of dollars NY tax payers are going to shell out litigating these appeals. No doubt criminal appellate attorneys have already begun advising their clients on their appellate rights and are starting to draft motions asking the court to reverse their clients convictions, and rightly so. When the dust settles, this will become a much larger story. Mr. Spitzer's political career is over, and after the NY Bar gets ahold of him, so will his law career.
Posted by john k | March 22, 2008 9:15 AM