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"Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring."

By Ann Althouse

Shocker NYT headline.

ADDED:

The governor spoke for perhaps a minute and did not address his political future.

He declined to take questions and promised to report back soon. As he went to leave, three reporters screamed out, "Are you resigning? Are you resigning?", and Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door.

And good God, all he's accused of is going to a prostitute, not participating in running a prostitution ring, which is what the headline made me think. But sure, run the man out of office and destroy him for visiting a prostitute once. What vicious times these are. But he was on the prosecuting end of the crime of prosecution:

As attorney general, he ... prosecuted at least two prostitution rings...

In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.

?This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,? Mr. Spitzer said at the time. ?It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.?

So run out of the room and slam the door. There will be no sympathy.

ADDED: Stephen Bainbridge comments and links back to his own earlier attacks on Spitzer. He also provides a link to the complaint (PDF), where we can see that Spitzer (allegedly) paid $4,300 for the encounter. Well, $4,300 so far. Seems like he's going to pay a lot more.

Full post as published by Althouse on March 10, 2008 (boomark / email).