Spitzer's Latest Abuse of Power
So how hard was this to predict:
ALBANY, July 23 — Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s aides, including one of his closest advisers, improperly used the State Police to gather information about the governor’s chief rival, Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, in an effort to plant a negative story about Mr. Bruno and damage him politically, according to a report on Monday by the attorney general’s office.
Spitzer aides, chiefly his communications director, Darren Dopp, concocted a false story for why the information was being gathered, saying the governor’s office acted after receiving a press request seeking details of Mr. Bruno’s use of state aircraft, the report said.
...
And fallout from the report may endanger central elements of the agenda that Mr. Spitzer laid out at the beginning of his term. On Monday, some Republican officials signaled their intent to revisit a deal struck with the governor last week to overhaul the state’s campaign finance laws.
At a somber news conference Monday that had the air of a cross-examination — with Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat, in the unaccustomed role of defendant — the governor insisted that he knew nothing about the effort to damage Mr. Bruno, a Republican.
It's no surprise that Spitzer, famous for his by any means necessary style as Attorney General would use whatever power at his disposal to attack his political opponents. Nor is it surprising that he would seek to avoid responsibility by blaming aides for the misconduct. What's surprising is that anyone believes him.
And kudos to the NYT for reporting on this. Although I'm not a big fan of the Times, and continue to believe that they spend an inordinate amount of ink carrying water for Democrats, it's important that they're covering this story.
Spitzer Aides Cited for Use of Police to Tarnish Bruno - New York Times