I have no sympathy for New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the hot-shot prosecutor of call-girl operations who was hoist on his own petard, as it were. I mean, what a jerk! And aside from the hypocrisy, what a fine message he was sending to his three teenage daughters about the role of women.
Having said that, Spitzer's bust should give pause to those in Congress who are ready to hand President Bush a free pass to continue his six-year campaign of warrantless spying on Americans.
We now know from yesterday's Wall Street Journal article that the spying Bush has been doing through the National Security Agency since early 2001 has included vast computer sweeps of not just internet and phone activity, but also bank and credit card transactions. These are sweeps of ordinary everyday people, with computers looking for odd transactions, or for codewords, or for transactions involving specific targeted organizations or addresses.
What nailed Spitzer, we now learn, was a series of bank transactions he had with the bank account of the Emperor's Club VIP callgirl operation.
Now reportedly, this particular investigation was being conducted by the IRS, which allegedly was investigating the Emperor's Club. Once the IRS discovered it had caught the New York governor in its web, it forwarded the case to the US Attorney General's Office, where it was pursued by the FBI, apparently on the instructions of AG Michael Mukasey. The investigation moved from monitoring the bank to monitoring phones, and Spitzer was captured talking to the Emperor's Club dispatcher. Bingo. Promising Democratic political career ruined.
Now the monitoring of the Emperor's Club was reportedly done with a court-ordered warrant. That's fine.
But this case shows us how people can get caught up by this kind of investigation really quickly.
Now imagine that instead of a call-girl operation, this had been a mosque or an international charity organization, and suppose you were someone who had made a call to ask about making donations to help the victims of the last earthquake in Indonesia? If that mosque, or charity, happened to be on the list of outfits being monitored by the NSA's computers, your call might well have been picked up. Then the focus would shift to your phone and your internet server, and conceivably every communication you made would be watched.
This is the America we now live in. According to the Wall Street Journal, after a wave of national outrage forced the Bush administration to shut down its Total Information Awareness project at the Pentagon, Bush and Cheney simply moved their scheme to subject all telecommunications and bank transactions to computer monitoring over to the NSA.
Since none of this spying activity is subject to court supervision and warrant requirements, we are left having to trust the personnel at the NSA, the so-called Justice Department, and the president and his administration, not to abuse it.
Right. And think of the temptations!
Want to know what the House leadership strategy is regarding renewal of the NSA wiretap authorization? Want to know whether the Congress is serious about imposing a time limit on troops in Iraq? Just start monitoring their emails and phones.
Want to make sure Democratic members of Congress go along with a war on Iran? Just monitor their phones and emails and catch them in conversations that are suitable for a little blackmail.
Is this kind of thing happening? Well, I keep marvelling at the cowardly behavior of leading members of Congress like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chair John Conyers. Maybe something is being held over their heads.
We know that the prosecution and conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was an administration hit on a popular Democratic official. Siegelman is now in jail. Ditto Wisconsin state employee Georgia Thompson. These blatant political prosecutions certainly weigh on the minds of all Democratic elected officials.
Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy" and "Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"). His latest book, coauthored with Barbara Olshanshky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office (St. Martin's Press, May 2006). His writing is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
that Spitzer was targetted for sowing wild oates? I am curious to know the real reason the owners were not pleased with him and Clintonized his double standard antics. If sexual improprieties were a reason to get lynched the politicians that would be left in DC could be counted on one hand.
Then theres the hypocricy angle, again DC is the world capitol of institutionalized "do as I say,not as I do"
From the bathroom stalls to the high dollar brothels, everybodys doin it, till their back aint got no bone. So what ?
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john riggs (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 297 comments)
on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 11:08:05 AM
...WHY the congress thinks, we, the Ppl, are so damn stupid and don't see thru all this harrykarry BS.
It is so obvious. I know they are watching and monitoring me. Hi guys! I give them crap every now and then. I say what I damn well want to say.
Maybe by June, they will arrest thes SOBs. That's all. Just cuff them dano.
Save the cash on that impeachment thing, and JUST arrest them on the lies to Iraq alone. We have the proof on that.
I have to wonder why they didn't say Impeach Vitter, Foley and Craig and all the other crooks. And furthermore, they sure hushed the list up bearing Cheney's name. But those of us who know, we will NEVER forget.
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shirley reese (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 154 comments)
on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 11:12:30 AM
Feds link Rhinebeck woman to pricey prostitution ring
Staff and wire reports
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FEDERAL prosecutors say a Northern Dutchess woman helped run a prostitution ring that charged its customers up to $5,500 an hour.
Tanya Hollander, 36, of Rhinebeck was one of four people named this week in a federal indictment against the organizers of a million-dollar international prostitution operation called Emperors Club VIP, said U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia.
Garcia said the Emperors Club, operating for at least the last three years, used a Web site to display photos of the prostitutes' bodies, with their faces hidden, along with hourly rates depending on whether the prostitutes were rated with one diamond, the lowest ranking, or seven diamonds, the highest.
A three-diamond prostitute would cost $1,000 per hour while a seven-diamond prostitute would charge $3,100, prosecutors said. The service's Icon Club allowed access to the most highly ranked prostitutes for $5,500 an hour, they said.
Authorities said Hollander and the three other defendants - Mark Brener, 62, and Cecil Suwal, 23, of Cliffside Park, N.J.; and Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, of Brooklyn - arranged connections between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris.
All four suspects were arrested Thursday morning.
Brener, accused of being the leader and recruiter of the prostitutes, and Suwal, accused of controlling the operation's bank accounts, were charged with conspiracy to violate federal prostitution laws and conspiracy to launder more than $1 million in illicit proceeds.
Hollander and Lewis, accused of arranging meetings between prostitutes and clients, were charged with conspiracy to violate federal prostitution laws.
Hollander "took requests from clients and coordinated meetings with prostitutes over the telephone, and referred issues relating to payment to Suwal," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a prepared statement.
Hollander was not accused of laundering money.
If convicted, Hollander and Lewis face up to five years in federal prison. Brener and Suwal face up to 20 years behind bars.
All four suspects made initial court appearances on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger. No pleas were entered.
In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, FBI agent Kenneth Hosey said clients were told they could pay with a wire transfer to the Emperors Club because it would show up on records as QAT Consulting to make it appear as a business transaction.
Much of the complaint traced how law-enforcement authorities learned about the business through tape-recorded telephone calls and text messages.
For instance, two of the defendants discussed on Feb. 7 that an Emperors Club client had complained that one of their prostitutes was "more sex than sexy," the document said.
Four days later, two of those charged exchanged text messages noting that the three-day rates for two prostitutes were $50,000 and $35,000, respectively, Hosey said.
In an affidavit submitted as part of a search warrant application, Hosey asked for permission to raid a Brooklyn location as part of a probe of the Emperors Club that began in October.
Hosey said the defendants had earned more than $1 million illegally through the business.
The agent said evidence collected during the probe included statements from a confidential source and an undercover officer, a review of more than 5,000 telephone calls and text messages and more than 6,000 e-mails along with bank records, travel and hotel records and surveillance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Stein said a search of Brener's apartment produced $600,000 in cash and an Israeli passport. He asked that Brener be held without bail.
Brener's lawyer, Jennifer Brown, said her client was a U.S. citizen who had lived in the United States for 20 years. Nevertheless, the judge ordered him detained without bail.
Hollander and Lewis were released on $250,000 bail each.
Hollander's lawyer, Mary Mulligan, said her client "leads a quiet life." Lewis' lawyer, Daniel Gordon, declined to comment.
Suwal was not immediately able to post her $500,000 bail. Her lawyer, Daniel Parker, said she denies the charges.
The Emperors Club's Web site, www.emperorsclubvip.com, has been taken down since the arrests.
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Mary Pitt (58 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 152 comments)
on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 11:43:58 AM
Dave, that WSJ link is 404; what was the title of the article, and do you have an archive you can post?
"Now reportedly, this particular investigation was being conducted by the IRS, which allegedly was investigating the Emperor's Club. Once the IRS discovered it had caught the New York governor in its web, it forwarded the case to the US Attorney General's Office, where it was pursued by the FBI, apparently on the instructions of AG Michael Mukasey."
What reports are you referring to? ABC, WSJ and NYT report the investigation began after Spitzer's bank filed suspicious activity reports, and investigators were working on the assumption Spitzer was structuring to hide bribes until they discovered it was a prostitution ring and tapped Spitzer's call.
Absolutely people should be concerned about an Executive Branch datamining and tapping all communications, and even more so that they're doing it with hardly any oversight by Congress or the Courts. Further, the last people that should be trusted with sensitive national security matters are the Bush Administration; many members should be impeached and prosectuted for spying w/o warrants, in addition to 9/11 negligence/obstruction, making a fraudulent case for 2 wars, torture, etc., not given additional power to commit crimes with impunity.
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Better World Order (3 articles, 97 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 400 comments)
on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 12:29:09 PM
As long as we are throwing around accusations of "hypocrisy" -
Let's be sure we save some for those Republicans who are now howling for Spitze's resignation!
The Republican Party is now the official poitical wing of Murder Inc - the US industrial sector which makes weapons and stages demonstration wars in third world countries to show off their products.
The Republican Party shills for serial killers and murderous sociopaths. They really do have some nerve and audacity to shout for Spitzer's impeachment over a sexual pecadillo - considering the blood soaked trousers they all strut around in every day!
So save some of those scarlet "H" letters for the Republicans to wear. No one gets out of this one unscathed! There is plenty of guilt and hypocrisy to go around!
H
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mrk * (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 277 comments)
on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 8:43:56 PM
As our didtator has said, "If you're not with us, You're the enemy" And you can bet whats left of our crashing dollar; that if you;re critical of this administration, you're considered the enemy and will be watched and listened to. Can we please have our Constitution Back!
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ronheri (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 80 comments)
on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 10:50:57 PM
Thanks to the pharmaceutical industry for Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. They are strong enough to overcome a guilty conscience. I'm for anything that promotes love over war and keeps the politicians out of my pockets.
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mattzcat (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 39 comments)
on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 4:14:08 AM
If the call-girl issue was blackmail re 9/11, it has been spent. If there is more hanging over him, this will have been a warning to stay on the reservation, as well as a means to discredit him should he decide to talk.
To see who the "terrorist" targets really are, look here:
David Lindorff, when you talk about abuse of power, you are so right. As a former Board member of my local ACLU Chapter, Here is the best---and most truly representative---- example I have seen:
The ACLU of Massachusetts posts specific examples not of groups, but of individuals who are affected by the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act. Imagine...bird watchers and do-good-ers being queried as "terrorists" by the FBI, on a repeated basis? Imagine...being shackled and jailed for purely racial reasons? Imagine...receiving a call from the FBI at your work place because of having made a contribution to a charitable organization?
Note the taserings of peaceful activists, such as those who sat beneath a tree on campus at the University of Santa Cruz, CA just because they sat there wearing orange. What does this have to do with warrantless wiretapping? Absolutely everything. The FBI is getting info about YOUR plans to stop the government from doing its thing. And sexual scandals are being USED by the government to oust anybody who would obstruct their criminal agendas.
Please read this, pass it on and please ask journalists to cover the issues: Note who is affected and how. So important. Thank you!!
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Kathryn Smith (56 articles, 0 quicklinks, 23 diaries, 142 comments)
on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 9:16:10 AM
