Just last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with an expensive prostitution operation. Administration officials would not say that this was the ring with which the governor had become involved.
Wow. Spitzer is married with three children. Press conference started at 2:15 Eastern.
Per Huffington Post, the prostitution ring is called the Emperor's Club.
Huff Post references The Smoking Gun posting papers about this, an international prostitution ring, being busted. Reportedly, it had 50 prostitutes available for appointments in New York, Washington, Miami, London and Paris, according to a complaint unsealed on Thursday in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The appointments, made by telephone or through an online booking service, cost $1,000 to $5,500 an hour. The ladies went for as much as $31,000 per day for a “seven diamond” rated girl.
Given Spitzer’s visibility, and his own aggressiveness on prostitution rings, I don’t see how he can escape total political cratering from this. I had in the past touted him as a potential future Democratic presidential candidate, or should Obama or Clinton win, our new attorney general.
Well, not anymore.
Updated: Spitzer’s presser statement here.
Now, as to the issue itself? I pretty much agree with Kevin Drum. Make it legal, like in Nevada or Amsterdam (along with pot, in Amsterdam, for that matter).
That said, though, the law is the law; and, as state AG before becoming gov, Spitzer’s sworn duty was legal investigation and prosecution. Also, without going Freudian, it’s arguable that Spitzer’s aggressiveness in previous pursuit of prostitution cases is some sort of psychological repression.
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