Congressman Peter King let loose on Eliot Spitzer today, warning that the governor of New York had left himself open to blackmail. It’s a point we made here yesterday but it seems to be catching on.
“Spitzer himself was very severe going after prostitution rings that had to do with white collar crimes. He was very hard-nosed with his tactics,” King told David Freddoso of National Review. “To leave himself open to blackmail — putting himself and the state in a compromised position like that — it’s just awful.”
King points out that prostitution rings are typically connected to organized crime, which makes the blackmail possibilities even more troubling. King adds that Spitzer will have to resign, and has some nice things to say about David Patterson, the lieutenant governor who would succeed Spitzer if he resigns.
Update: Veteran Wall Street reporter Gary Weiss also stresses the blackmail angle.
That’s because the key word here is not “hypocrisy” or “morality,” it’s “blackmail.” If Spitzer has been patronizing prostitutes, he’d be leaving himself open to being shaken down, perhaps by the mob. The Russian mob is heavily involved in prostitution.
Self-righteous and unforgiving [National Review]
Peter King to be indicted on prostitution charges in 2013.
DM — why would it take that long?
Not only are prostitution rings typically tied to organized crime, but so are gay bars and sex clubs (historically, at least) and one wonders how many mobsters have blackmailed how many closeted politicians: http://www.bitterqueen.typepad.com/
It’s Paterson with one “t,” Carney.
Gary Weiss writes: “If Spitzer has been patronizing prostitutes, he’d be leaving himself open to being shaken down, perhaps by the mob.” What Spitzer did was incredibly stupid.
However, this argument about sexual misbehaviors being subject to blackmail is pretty outdated. Walter Jenkins, a top aide to President Lyndon Johnson, was forced out of his job when he was caught committing a homosexual act in a men’s room. The argument was that a practicing homosexual was subject to blackmail and therefore a national security risk. That was over fifty years ago.
Force Spitzer out because he has lost the confidence of the electorate by his hypocrisy and raised ethical questions with his strange money transactions. Leave the “subject to blackmail” out of it.