Spitzer question: Who ordered the wiretap? FISA smear? Siegelman 2.0?

[calimary]

Just asking.

I've googled and otherwise looked around a little. I'm wondering what provoked this? republi-CON dirty tricks to take out what many are referring to as a "major rising star" in the Democratic Party? First Jewish President - now that we're in a season of historic firsts for that office - he has, up til now, been considered a key player in the future of the party. Lots of luster, lots of upward momentum, lots of potential.

Maybe I'm being paranoid. However, knowing the kinds of sneaky-ass underhanded shenanigans that go on - mainly perpetrated by the republi-CONS against our people, I can't help but wonder.

Any ideas?

Thank you in advance.

[jimshoes]

1. Obviously everybody is being monitored for everything

If something triggers a red flag, and somebody's got an axe to grind, you're toast. Big brother really is here. And he is malevolent.

[Egalitariat]

3. Maybe he got it back when he was investigating the ring.

Wouldn't that be rich.

[calimary]

5. Thanks for weighing in. I can't help it - I just can't help but wonder.

Somebody else here is suspicious, too:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2983628

I mean, they ARE wiretapping - what did rumsfeld once say when prompting his henchmen to try and come up with ways to connect Saddam to 9/11? "Go wide, sweep it all up".

WHO BENEFITS from something like this?

You ALWAYS have to consider who benefits from this. Granted, he's a Dem so if Spitzer resigns, the governorship would stay Democratic. But I'm just wondering. I can't help it. And wouldn't Spitzer's head look great on one of those republi-CON silver platters?

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. Axe or no axe, I hope they just clean the decks already.

What he did was wrong, and I suspect that it's the networking that alarms me more.

[aquart]

2. That's sure as hell what I'm thinking.

WTF were they looking at his private finances?

[notadmblnd]

4. from an earlier post by KPETE, here's how ist's done.

Here's the way the whole thing works, according to Gorman: into the NSA's massive database goes data collected by the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Treasury. This information includes data about email (recipient and sender address, subject, time sent), internet searches (sites visited and searches conducted), phone calls (incoming and outgoing numbers, length of call, location), financial information (wire transfers, credit-card use, information about bank accounts), and information from the DHS about airline passengers.


Then the NSA's software analyzes this data for indications of terrorist activity. When it hits upon a suspicious pattern, the NSA "feeds its findings into the effort the administration calls the Terrorist Surveillance Program and shares some of that information with other U.S. security agencies.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2982898&mesg_id=2982898

[calimary]

6. Thanks - and thanks for the link also!

I've just got a really suspicious mind, considering all that I've observed of the rovians and what they're capable of - and how low they're willing to stoop.

[notadmblnd]

7. to me this proves that they're using wiretapping for activities other than

monitoring terrorists. This confirms that they're tapping their political enemies. Another question; I've heard Spitzer has been investigating Wall Street, you think this will halt that investigation?

[calimary]

9. Well, are Paterson's priorities and his pet agenda items the same as Spitzer's?

I don't know a lot about the individuals in this case.

But your point is a good one: it DOES confirm that they're tapping people for domestic purposes. "Go wide. Sweep it all up." Perhaps that is an underlying theme for all things bush when it comes to dealing with political enemies, threats, potential threats, and perceived threats.

[BurtWorm]

26. Paterson is a very good man.

Too good to be governor apparently. But such is fate.


http://www.ny.gov/ltgov/index.html




David A. Paterson was elected New York’s lieutenant governor on November 7, 2006.

Elected to represent Harlem in the New York State Senate in 1985, David Paterson has demanded and achieved change at every level, not simply by what he stands for but by who he is.

In 2002, David Paterson was elected minority leader of the New York State Senate, the first non-white legislative leader in New York’s history. In 2004 in Boston, he became the first visually impaired person to address a Democratic National Convention. And 2006 saw Mr. Paterson make history again by being elected New York’s first African-American lieutenant governor.

As New York State Senate minority leader, David Paterson led the charge on several crucial issues for New York’s future, proposing legislation for a $1 billion voter-approved stem cell research initiative, demanding a statewide alternative energy strategy, insisting on strong action to fight against domestic violence, and serving as the primary champion for minority- and women-owned businesses in New York. As a result, Governor Spitzer asked Mr. Paterson to continue to lead New York State on these issues as lieutenant governor.

Lt. Governor Paterson, who is legally blind, is also nationally recognized as a leading advocate for the visually and physically impaired. A graduate of Columbia University and Hofstra Law School, Mr. Paterson also currently serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia’s School for International and Public Affairs. David Paterson lives in Harlem with his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Ashley and Alex, and he is the son of Basil Paterson, the first non-white secretary of state of New York and the first African-American vice-chair of the national Democratic Party.

[goodgd_yall]

32. "using wiretapping for activities other than monitoring terrorists"

Ya think?

No doubt in my mind.

[MissWaverly]

8. forgive me for asking but how do hookers link into terrorists

I thought he was resigning over his connection to a high priced call girl operation,
how can the government be vacuuming up his phone records, e-mails over this, I fail
to see the "if Osama is calling someone in the US, I kinda wanta see who picks up the
phone"-snicker, snicker applies here.

[calimary]

11. Well, aren't they wiretapping EVERYTHING? Just in case?

If I were a schemer of their caliber, I'd sure be tempted to go sifting for dirt on my enemies - both foreign AND DOMESTIC...

I'm just saying...

I just think, with these people, you can't rule ANYTHING out. You don't dare.

ALWAYS be watching. Don't EVER trust 'em. If they're up to ANYTHING, they're up to NO GOOD.

[MissWaverly]

14. Why can't Nancy Asleepatthewheel Pelosi see this?

I wish that Congress could see past the lobbyists for a change, they need to start
getting real answers on these wiretaps now.

[calimary]

16. Truly. The CONS are the guys about whom the phrase "dirty tricksters" was coined.

If they were looking for something with which to take Spitzer out, so he wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass in some future presidential race, why wouldn't they be casting a wide net? And if THAT'S true, who else might they be targeting?

I wouldn't put ANYTHING past these people. And if they're wiretapping EVERYBODY, who knows what they might unearth? And you have to know they don't just have one lonely wonk sitting in an office with headphones on for eight hours a day. I'll bet they have a whole department full of operatives on fishing expeditions here.

Or were they targeting this prostitition ring - perhaps to see if there were political enemies in the customer base?

I just can't help but think there's something unseen in play here...

[MissWaverly]

29. agreed that Spitzer transgressed but

they should be investigating crimes not sifting thru bank records, phone calls, e-mails, it's seems to be find the person then
find the crime, that's not what it is about and I totally dislike the trial by press corps that we have now. Scooter Libby =
nice guy = innocent, Gov. Spitzer = not nice, aggressive = guilty. I think justice is all about investigating crimes and
then looking for those who did it, the present system has turned justice on it's head.

[goodgd_yall]

34. All we need to remember is THIS IS A BUSH ADMINISTRATION

Our federal investigators cannot be trusted to NOT be used for Neocon dirty tricks.

[MissWaverly]

35. yes, and so our justice system is tainted

we really have to get back to pre-911 thinking, this investigate us all is hurting all of us

[MissWaverly]

36. Yes, and then there is the threat factor

like Senator X we can trumpet to the press how your son was arrested on drug charges or the abortion your wife had while in college
or the fact that your dad fibbed on his taxes to save his business, there's a million coercive things they can do. I believe
that is why Prez 2/3rds opposed is so powerful still.

[calimary]

28. That's a good one! Nancy Asleepatthewheel. Sure fits.

:thumbsup:

Nancy HearnoevilSeenoevilSpeaknoevil.

[MissWaverly]

30. any Speaker of the House that could not bring impeachment

during this session has to be either clueless or willfully ignorant

[calimary]

38. No KIDDING!!!!!

Unbelievable! ALL the criminality of the grossest kind - as far as the eye can see, and she sits on her hands.

[MissWaverly]

39. yes, that's why I think that the Spitzer example is so memorable

I think that there has more than cya at play here or a desire to win in 2008, I think
there has been major bullying here to keep them in line but now for the first time
an incumbent is more likely to lose his seat than retain it, hence the Spitzer head
on a platter as an example to silence the restless crowd.

[wain]

10. I can't help but think

the mob is getting back at him though his weaknesses

[spanone]

12. spitzer has so many political enemies, i can only assume he's a dumbass

[madrchsod]

13. i thought there was an ongoing

criminal investigation into an international call girl or "escort service" as the swells call them. during that investigation spitzer got caught on tape arranging for an "escort girl" to fuck him...where is the big conspiracy?

if he`s so innocent why did his name come up on these tapes? maybe he should have kept his dick in his pants...

[MissWaverly]

15. Maybe there was but I am still waiting for the trial of DeLay

remember how he was indicted in Texas and had to quit his campaign for Congress,
oh, and then there was that fella convicted of obstructing Justice, Libby, Scooter
Libby, oh, that's right, he didn't have to go to jail becuz he's a nice guy,
oh, then there was Mark Foley, and there was a lot of e-mail evidence on him
but wait the Statute of Limitations has run out on those charges.

[Born_A_Truman]

17. Turns out, his bank contacted the feds...

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4424507&page=1

The federal investigation of a New York prostitution ring was triggered by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's suspicious money transfers, initially leading agents to believe Spitzer was hiding bribes, according to federal officials.

(snip)

The suspicious financial activity was initially reported by a bank to the IRS which, under direction from the Justice Department, brought kin the FBI's Public Corruption Squad.

"We had no interest at all in the prostitution ring until the thing with Spitzer led us to learn about it," said one Justice Department official.

(snip)

In a interview two years ago, Spitzer, then-attorney general, told ABC News he had some advice for people who break the law. "Never talk when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink, and never write an e-mail because it's death. You're giving prosecutors all the evidence we need," he said.

[MissWaverly]

33. I have news for you

I have a friend in Northern Virginia who says that the Bank Manager told this person that Homeland Security goes into the bank every month and looks at every transaction of every business account that is not routine, every one, do you really want this to happen,
then this information can make the round of federal agencies like a bowl of salsa at a party. I am sorry, he may have
committed a crime by using a prostitute but I don't believe that investigations should start with a friendly chat between
your bank and the IRS or DOJ. Crimes should be investigated not people.

[cbayer]

19. That's exactly right.

That's why he is referred to as "Customer #9".

This was a RICO case and he was only a customer.

They got him by accident.

[Mojorabbit]

24. I read in another thread

that the bank noticed suspicious transactions in his bank acct and notified the IRS. The story changes hourly.

[Canuckistanian]

20. Which occurred first? The wiretap or the "prostitution ring" investigation?

I'd say the former.

[Thepricebreaker]

21. The FBI - He so happened to get caught on the tap... You are paranoid.

[McCamy Taylor]

22. I had the same thought. They could easily monitor every Dems calls and then

prosecute them at their leisure. This might be intended to scare Congress into granting telecom immunity. As in "look they got Spitzer."

[bluesmail]

23. shades of the Schwarzennegar recall against Grey Davis

[BurtWorm]

25. It would only be Siegelman 2.0 if Spitzer weren't actually guilty of any crime.

I'm waiting to get more info before I'm putting Spitzer in the category of innocent victim.

[calimary]

27. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting he's completely, or even minimally innocent here.

It appears from the evidence that he did the dirty deed.

Even so, it makes me shudder because it shows how broadly data is being collected and shared - domestically.

If the feds have their antennae up looking for all things terrorist, who knows what they'll find on anybody? And considering the track record of the US Attorney firings and other such administration malfeasance, it wouldn't at all surprise me if they started slobbering when they traced it back to a prominent Democrat.

Troubling. Troubling for all the rest of us, this is.

[goodgd_yall]

31. Not paranoid--you're a realist.

I'm sure Spitzer made a lot of enemies on Wall Steet. And powerful Republicans. Here is an article that appeared March 1 in the New York Magazine that you might find interesting.

http://nymag.com/news/features/44755/

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

37. he's still a dumbass and needs to go

for the good of the party. If he couldn't fight his crothc urges and keep his pants on with all the enemies he knew were looking for him to slip up, he has no business in office, framed or not