Someone smells a rat

The Spitzer Sex Sting: A Few More Questions

It looks like the Bush Justice Department just bagged themselves another Democratic Governor.

When I first saw the crawler on CNN, I thought: Spitzer was running a prostitution ring? No, he just over paid for sex. Oh, why is that such a big deal? Just about everyone in Washington has been caught with his pants down. It's embarrassing, sad for the families, and aside from being somewhat hypocritical... what, a misdemeanor?

Let's put aside whether Spitzer should resign or not (frankly, scarlet, I don't give a damn). What motivated this investigation? Spitzer may have dishonored his wife and family, but the Bush administration has committed unspeakable acts that have possibly irreparably damaged this nation.

When are the criminals in the White House going to be investigated?

Read Scott Horton's blog.

So here are the rather amazing facts that surface in the Spitzer case:

(1) The prosecutors handling the case came from the Public Integrity Section.

(2) The prosecution is opened under the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910. You read that correctly. The statute itself is highly disreputable, and most of the high-profile cases brought under it were politically motivated and grossly abusive. Here are a few:

[...]

(3) The resources dedicated to the case in terms of prosecutors and investigators are extraordinary.

(4) How the investigation got started. The Justice Department has yet to give a full account of why they were looking into Spitzer’s payments, and indeed the suggestion in the ABC account is that it didn’t have anything to do with a prostitution ring. The suggestion that this was driven by an IRS inquiry and involved a bank might heighten, rather than allay, concerns of a politically motivated prosecution.

All of these facts are consistent with a process which is not the investigation of a crime, but rather an attempt to target and build a case against an individual.