eliot spitzer
has been makin all the rounds on
i think he's been on every single msnbc show
over the last
p teen hours to announce that he is going to be running
for new york city
is a comptroller or controller
it's comptroller told some people say controller
uh...
it
so many of the
sure people do want to be the controller
i was thinking about the comptroller yes i was thinking about he controls he com
patrols
the uh... the finances of the city the
the most interesting aspect of this of course is that the
city
through its pension funds
has
potentially a lot of influence over the governance of corporations now
not quite clear exactly how much influenced the individual
comptroller has there are committees
that are set up that also
sir provided guidance
for these pension funds in terms of how they vote
and what they can do in terms of forcing
certain changes in corporate governance
if they hold a lot of uh... share is in any given
corporation
uh... but there is some speculation that
forgot like spitzer
uh...
has his issues with wall street
that this could be a means in which he imposes certain corporate governance i
mean i think
the other story obviously is that he is starting up his political career again
so fascinating exchange on
morning geo this morning that
i don't know how much was revealed here but of course everyone knows the story
at this point
five years ago
eliot spitzer was the governor of new york state
he
was
ostensibly investigated
because a bank
notified the i_r_s_ that he was pulling out
sums of money that
appeared to be
be uh... designed
to avoid
the reporting requirements if you pull out
any more than ten thousand dollars in cash
from a bank account
the bank is required to report this
to federal officials
and uh... this of course is how rush limbaugh dot busted for his uh... what
was it purpose said ur
uh...
knows uh... hillbilly harrow and right now is what the uh... nickname is for
the drug that he was a path c cod arctic on
and he was paying up his cleaning lady
to get a more
eccentric setter
and
essentially the story goes that
spitzer at one point pulled out ninety five hundred dollars in this
led to a massive
uh...
investigation
uh... hai
hi believe this story is uh...
which we have really
have not heard in this is all speculation my part but
eliot spitzer made some extremely powerful enemies
in his time as uh... new york state attorney general
and i'm quite convinced that some of those enemies
uh...
viet heads of
banks investment firms
must've had private investigators
trying to figure out exactly what they could
finder on spitzer and uh... that information made its way
to the bush it uh... department of justice
and the rest is as they say district
nevertheless
and frankly and i think i've said on this program
and various k e times that
uh...
from a public policy standpoint
i don't have a problem what with the prosecution i think it should be
legalized the
the
biggest problems with prostitution come in the exploitation
of sex workers
here which and
is a function of prostitution being a legal
and
however
saal so uh... there's a tremendous man hypocrisy involved
and someone who has attorney general
was prosecuting john's
and then was engaging in the same
uh... ac at the caddy not been so
uh... or had he not engaged in a type of uh... of of policy
too
for the prosecution of john's uh... i wouldn't have been as much of an issue
in my mind anyways
of the rest is his political
and so too is this question
as to whether or not you need to be banished
from politics for other if you do something like that mean certainly
there was a price paid in that he resigned
uh... his position as governor and
i a m agin
though i'm not sure i've seen any reporting on this that
prosecutors basically said
that's the deal will make
no for the prosecution
if uh... if you resign
because the amount of tax dollars spent on the prosecution of something
such a uh... low-level crime would probably not
not be the best uh... use of resources
uh... for a guy was gonna fight it that way and they certainly
got a eight pound of flesh in salem
understand it is in in that context in which
when spitzer shows up on morning joe and who was it wasn't you know it was uh...
mark helper halpern
they really really
uh... don't want to uh... trowel inge
joe's job over there by putting someone with a time occurs muck
uh... and of course generally
uh... i i will be filling in for joe
i will be filling in for joe
yeah
currently uh... they couldn't get uh... mike barnicle he was uh... too busy i
guess
uh...
at his alter for whitey bolger
and uh... you know this is a show that is often
that is
head by age for a politician
uh... who at the very least
uh... we never quite
found out exactly what went on but there was uh... some
certainly
some scandal surrounding uh... uh...
joe scarborough with the uh... death of an intern in his office
uh... but
not that there was maybe anything to that scandal but that's just the way the
media works
uh... mike barnicle of course it was a fired from the boston herald for
plagiarism
which is seems to be a fairly important um...
ethical violation when you're a journalist
it's hard you know ameen you'll recall that when uh... other
uh... journalists have made up stuff the outcry
that's a leisure as we get paid twenty thousand dollars to go to a speaking
engagement
it is pretty stunning the barnicle doesn't really take
much grief
uh... for his role in that uh... and uh... in played rising as journalists
uh... ostensibly now a new job in journalism but uh... do that is a man
here is the exchange between faltered
and spitzer truancy if you get a sense of where help burns uh...
uh... mentality lou allies when it comes to spitzer i mean yes here on this show
obviously
uh... there's no reason to give us pitcher a free pass
uh... but uh...
at the end of the day
the issue is
as it will be with winner
uh... in some respects
issue is
what is the electorate set
here's how perrin and spitzer of this morning on from morning till
u_n_ disposition we never lie to the public wants a lemon
never sony cast in the beginning how people can be confidence that there
won't be repetitive behavior before you said you reflected to speak a little bit
more about that what does that mean begged it what what is what you've done
in the last five years how does that convince people fishery sure people that
won't happen again
to to do things that matter in the small and quiet way were that bad doesn't
persuade people that recurrence but i've also struck deep within and recognize
that i would need to answer these questions and as i've said with the pain
of cost
caused politically if you win
you will not really had paid you paid some price obviously be will not have
had your public career ended so again
wouldn't wouldn't that
to some extent reinforce the notion that
you could do what you wanted to do
now i'm not quite sure linen and i think that there has been a substantial price
to be paid in our with others
no that is just uh... uh... a stupid question
aside from the fact that i don't know what the new york post has uh... on its
cover today but i'm sure
sunday was here we go again yes
i think it's pretty hard to say
that he hasn't paid eight price
and certainly there is very little precedent
very little precedent in american public life
of politicians
who have their careers
merrily ended
by a sex scandal or say
ollie north
uh... maybe uh... lying to congress
or and mean
so wanted so on i mean this is it's just an absurd and question the idea that
he hasn't paid it eight price
meanwhile um...
where's my particle
what what place that mike barnicle bday
mcentee the uh... your post rampage fights it bob by the way is that sleazy
does it
do you know
determined a small adequate are inadequate
resigning governorship
and
then deal with the aftermath of that deal with everything that is flowed from
it
as a peacemaker anything's people an elective office high office by governor
of new york could do
that involve law-breaking like the public that you would consider as a
voter disqualifying her nothing's disqualifying if a person comes back and
says look what i've done for the last five years look at my great ideas are
there things that are just roughly six hundred sure there i mean i think there
would be disqualified i think there is a difference between
private public wise and i'm not one to begin to articulate this distinction at
this point because im going on there
are uniquely bad position to try to articulate but i think there is a divide
their that is something we do want think about a certain point in time potluck
asking hello
step in and to this question if you
engage
in activities
that uh... as a public official
that abuse is your office
the position that you're holding
if you're involved in
uh...
using the apparatus of government to ed too
further your own ends
if you are uh... breaking laws that are a function of your position not as an
individual
uh... that is a
rather big distinction
and main ino body cfc got
kathy uh... i think it was the the the the chief of the state police
the whole down his uh... whites
uh... lover while you beat him up with a backpack think i mean i'm doing this
from recollection
and then went to jail and came back out was reelected dot nair providence
that seems to be
the decision of the voters at that point
personally i feel like if you abuse your position
in some fashion
two in which your cells
or that has some material
degradation of the systems of our government
that's a very different
that engaging in
illegal behavior that has no impact
short of the way they tried to be the public perceives you
on that position
any interest in finding out
what buddy ciency actually it's off of that i was be and what was it elite
cigarette
and astra
and a fireplace law okay
apology for not easier
there was
who was in a baseball bat that would've been an upgrade
i guess the governor of new york
but that is not his fault lines about what i i think you know we all know the
politicians dissemble all the time about negotiations what on substantive issues
and probably a personal wishes as well
and so that it is a question of where when how in on what the issue
as i think there's slightly greater subtlety to this in terms of the art of
both governments and how u can determine whether what people don't too successful
won't let one more so is this an elected official government or comptroller of
new york
lying about his or her personal life when asked about it in in a public patsy
that's fine
united states following the u_s_ different was disqualified then i think
that the again i think they were going down your packet where it requires more
time to it parse out what that foundry is between the private republican i'll
give you some of disqualifying people lied about their taxes not having paid
their taxes and all the rest but i think that is swamping you library legal
activity
well i i i lied about personal sexual activity yes and i did and i'm not try
to diminish if you are lying about a fairy consentual affair your life that
you legal activity ok escrow so
uber you're saying that lying about healing collectivity to you is not that
this is what i will let the public neglected that to commit
they go
so um...
interesting exchange and you know i akkada ela
ad
certainly who would not be terribly happy with my spouse
of she was engaging in this activity
uh... and antonio that uh...
this would be uh... a guy that i would say a little really
feel i can trust you with some
i don't know i mean
uh... but that's not really the issue here
you know when it's now up to the voters to decide
uh... who they're going to vote for artist i have found it interesting
adam on this program the many times as a guest
i've been on his programs many times
uh... both of them
and
hi-eight
from a public policy standpoint
i remain offend anybody and
who is going to be that aggressive about going after the uh... the bankers
uh... is
someone i_e_ would like to see in office
uh... and
you know it's up to his wife as to whether or not she wants to still be
involved in that with that guy
and uh...
at this point she has before it ever reason is made that decision
the