Legal News

Spitzer Announces Resignation; Feds Say No Agreement Reached

By Ashby Jones

It seemed to take an eternity to get here, but in the end it was brief. In a short statement, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer this morning announced his resignation, to be effective on Monday.

“I’ve insisted, I believe correctly, that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibilty for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself,” he said. He didn’t elaborate specifically on the allegations against him, namely that he had in recent years hired prostitutes affiliated with the so-called Emperor’s Club.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan just released a short statement indicating no deal with Spitzer had been reached. The statement read: “There is no agreement between this Office and Governor Eliot Spitzer, relating to his resignation or any other matter.”

It felt as if his resignation had been in the making for an eternity. It had been rumored since Monday, when news broke of his alleged participation in a prostitution ring. News reports from earlier today indicated his resignation would come this morning. In the end, it did — at about 11:45 EDT. TV-news stations broadcast his motorcade puttering through Manhattan.

Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is set to succeed Spitzer.

Added Spitzer, in his statement, “I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been… There is much more to be done and I can’t allow my private failings to disrupt the peoples’ work.”

Again, we’ll continue to update the story as it unfolds.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 12, 2008 (boomark / email).