Posted on 09/21/2007 12:21:05 AM PDT by neverdem
ALBANY, Sept. 20 — The Albany County district attorney said on Thursday that Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his administration did not break any laws and acted within their authority in their handling of travel records related to the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno.
The news was a victory for the Spitzer administration, which was knocked back on its heels when the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo — a Democrat, as is the governor — issued a report in mid-July that found that the governor’s staff had misused the State Police in their effort to discredit Mr. Bruno, the state’s top Republican.
The governor accepted the Cuomo report’s findings and disciplined two members of his staff — Darren Dopp, Mr. Spitzer’s communications director, and William F. Howard, the former assistant secretary for homeland security.
“This office has found no illegal conduct,” said P. David Soares, the Albany County district attorney. “To the contrary, we found that the governor, his staff and the New York State Police were acting within their authority in compiling and releasing documents to the media concerning the use of state aircraft.”
Republicans, who have not taken Mr. Soares’s investigation seriously for some time, were quick to question his findings.
“I’m a little surprised that the district attorney seems to find conduct that the attorney general deemed reprehensible to be appropriate,” said Senator George H. Winner Jr., chairman of the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations. “Clearly, we disagree.”
Mr. Cuomo also found that no laws were broken, but he did not have the same investigative access that Mr. Soares did and did not interview the governor’s staff members. Mr. Soares had subpoena power, but he chose not to use it because the governor and his top aides all agreed to be interviewed...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
What would one expect from a political orgy!
It’s a whitewash from Soares which is why DiGenova got brought in.
Pre-ordained conclusion.
All right, Mr. Winner and Mr. Griffo... your turn.
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Thanks for the ping!
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