It has now been more than a day since the bombshell broke about our Governor and his dealings with a prostitution ring. Now that we have many more details than yesterday afternoon, it is clear that not only did the Governor commit a misdemeanor by having several liaisons with hookers, but he violated the Mann Act and funneled money in not so ethical ways. Those two counts add up to 25 years in jail if he faced the full extent of the law. Prosecutors haven't said anything about charges yet, but that hasn't stopped the Republican caucus in the state Assembly from acting.
From MSNBC:
NEW YORK - As Gov. Eliot Spitzer faced mounting calls to resign, Republican legislators indicated they will seek to impeach him if he doesn't quit within 48 hours, a spokesman for a leading New York assemblyman said Tuesday."The governor has 48 hours to resign or articles of impeachment would be introduced," Josh Fitzpatrick, spokesman for Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco, told Reuters.
Online editions of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported that Spitzer's top aides expected the governor to resign, although the timing remained uncertain.
While the resignation rumors go back and forth, the clock is ticking for the Governor. Now no Democrat (myself included) likes the idea of Spitzer being impeached, but that is exactly what the caucus intends to do. If it ended up being a party line vote then Spitzer would escape (but not the press) but I have a feeling there are many people in the Assembly that would vote to impeach him. The hypocrisy of it all is so damning it would be ridiculous for an Assemblymember to try and go back to their district and explain that vote. There is one thing that will start to make this go away, and that is the Governor's resignation.
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