ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday he will testify about what he knew of the scheme involving two top aides who used state police to track the whereabouts of Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno during a campaign to smear the governor's political rival.
“I said I'm happy to, going to, look forward to it,” Spitzer said during a press conference in Syracuse. “If they call me, I'd love to, and even if they don't, I'd love to send them my statement just because this needs to be clarified and made perfectly clear.”
Bruno - and half of New Yorkers in three separate polls - said Spitzer should testify about what he knew of the plot to compile records on Bruno's use of a state helicopter and a state police driver on days he mixed state business with political fundraisers. The information gathered by state police was then released to a reporter by the Spitzer operatives.
Spitzer has denied knowing anything about the scheme. He suspended Communications Director Darren Dopp without pay and transferred public safety deputy William Howard out of the governor's office when it was brought to light by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office on July 23.
Spitzer, however, has rejected the Senate Republican majority's call for a special prosecutor or referral to the State Investigations Commission or the Senate's investigations committee.
As of late last week, the investigation was in the hands of the state Ethics Commission. Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said Tuesday the governor has agreed to testify before that panel even though his counsel had advised two aides not to be interviewed during Cuomo's initial investigation.
But Bruno said an investigation by the ethics commission - a board that includes Spitzer appointees - “does not satisfy the people of New York state.”
In a press conference in his district in Troy, Bruno called for the case to be referred to the state Investigation Commission or possibly to Albany County District Attorney David Soares. If there is no independent investigation, the Senate Investigations Committee would do it as “a last resort” and has subpoena power, he said.
Formed in the 1950s to investigate organized crime and corrupt officials, the state Investigation Commission has broad powers. “All governmental bodies in the state are statutorily required to cooperate with and assist the commission in the performance of its duties,” according to the commission's Web site. The commission also can grant immunity and hire independent investigators.
The SIC has two commissioners appointed by Bruno, two by Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and two - including the chairman - by former Republican Gov. George Pataki.
“The people in this state, the majority, when polled, said they do not believe that the governor had no knowledge of what went on,” Bruno said.
Bruno said Spitzer is a well-known “micro-manager” and it was “unacceptable to the public” that key Spitzer aides refused to be questioned in Cuomo's investigation.
Bruno also announced he will hold public hearings on the use of state resources for political purposes. The hearings could include Spitzer's aides using state police to track Bruno as well as Bruno's use of state aircraft and state police drivers.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found that most New Yorkers consider Spitzer honest and someone they would likely vote to re-elect. While the voters who were polled feel the scandal will pass, Spitzer took a hit on how they view his job performance.
Spitzer's approval dropped to 48 percent from 60 percent on June 19.
Just over half of those polled thought the governor and Legislature will be able to work together, but most blamed the difficulty on the Legislature. The Quinnipiac poll telephoned 1,548 voters from July 25-29 and has a margin of error or 2.5 percentage points.
Like Siena and Marist college polls released since Friday, Quinnipiac found that about half of New Yorkers questioned think there should be more investigation of the scandal. By differing degrees, the polls also found many New Yorkers suspect Spitzer knew about the political plot, despite his denials.
“Spitzer is in bad shape in his job approval,” said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac poll. “But people still think he's honest and should run for re-election and most said this won't make much difference in how they vote.”
“It's not Watergate,” Carroll said. “Watergate started with a crime. This is about misbehavior ... but there's something about it that people don't like: Siccing the cops on somebody.”
---
Associated Press writers William Kates in Syracuse and Michael Virtanen in Troy contributed to this report.
AP-ES-07-31-07 1503EDT
Bruno - and half of New Yorkers in three separate polls - said Spitzer should testify about what he knew of the plot to compile records on Bruno's use of a state helicopter and a state police driver on days he mixed state business with political fundraisers. The information gathered by state police was then released to a reporter by the Spitzer operatives.
Spitzer has denied knowing anything about the scheme. He suspended Communications Director Darren Dopp without pay and transferred public safety deputy William Howard out of the governor's office when it was brought to light by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office on July 23.
Spitzer, however, has rejected the Senate Republican majority's call for a special prosecutor or referral to the State Investigations Commission or the Senate's investigations committee.
As of late last week, the investigation was in the hands of the state Ethics Commission. Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said Tuesday the governor has agreed to testify before that panel even though his counsel had advised two aides not to be interviewed during Cuomo's initial investigation.
But Bruno said an investigation by the ethics commission - a board that includes Spitzer appointees - “does not satisfy the people of New York state.”
In a press conference in his district in Troy, Bruno called for the case to be referred to the state Investigation Commission or possibly to Albany County District Attorney David Soares. If there is no independent investigation, the Senate Investigations Committee would do it as “a last resort” and has subpoena power, he said.
Formed in the 1950s to investigate organized crime and corrupt officials, the state Investigation Commission has broad powers. “All governmental bodies in the state are statutorily required to cooperate with and assist the commission in the performance of its duties,” according to the commission's Web site. The commission also can grant immunity and hire independent investigators.
The SIC has two commissioners appointed by Bruno, two by Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and two - including the chairman - by former Republican Gov. George Pataki.
“The people in this state, the majority, when polled, said they do not believe that the governor had no knowledge of what went on,” Bruno said.
Bruno said Spitzer is a well-known “micro-manager” and it was “unacceptable to the public” that key Spitzer aides refused to be questioned in Cuomo's investigation.
Bruno also announced he will hold public hearings on the use of state resources for political purposes. The hearings could include Spitzer's aides using state police to track Bruno as well as Bruno's use of state aircraft and state police drivers.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found that most New Yorkers consider Spitzer honest and someone they would likely vote to re-elect. While the voters who were polled feel the scandal will pass, Spitzer took a hit on how they view his job performance.
Spitzer's approval dropped to 48 percent from 60 percent on June 19.
Just over half of those polled thought the governor and Legislature will be able to work together, but most blamed the difficulty on the Legislature. The Quinnipiac poll telephoned 1,548 voters from July 25-29 and has a margin of error or 2.5 percentage points.
Like Siena and Marist college polls released since Friday, Quinnipiac found that about half of New Yorkers questioned think there should be more investigation of the scandal. By differing degrees, the polls also found many New Yorkers suspect Spitzer knew about the political plot, despite his denials.
“Spitzer is in bad shape in his job approval,” said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac poll. “But people still think he's honest and should run for re-election and most said this won't make much difference in how they vote.”
“It's not Watergate,” Carroll said. “Watergate started with a crime. This is about misbehavior ... but there's something about it that people don't like: Siccing the cops on somebody.”
---
Associated Press writers William Kates in Syracuse and Michael Virtanen in Troy contributed to this report.
AP-ES-07-31-07 1503EDT
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.