Reaction
On July 27, 2007, the New York Post reported on Dopp's past interactions with the press on behalf of Spitzer. Reporter Charles Gasparino claimed that he was threatened by Dopp while covering then Attorney General Spitzer's investigation of the over-compensation of former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso. Gasparino feels he was targeted by Dopp after publishing a piece claiming that Attorney General's office did not also pursue Spitzer ally H. Carl McCall who, as the compensation-committee chief, guided the board when it approved Grasso's compensation package. The New York State Supreme Court summarily ordered Grasso to repay a significant amount of the $188M package.
Republican State Senator Dean Skelos asked, "Did the governor know?" and stated that the report "leaves many questions open in terms of how far up the chain of command were the acts of — at least the acts of Dopp and Howard — known?". Mr. Skelos added that he believed it would be "totally appropriate" for the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, which has subpoena power and of which Skelos is a member, to review the matter. Skelos called the matter "the makings of a real conspiracy here", and was echoed by Assemblyman Keith Wright, a Harlem Democrat who said the findings of the report sound "very Nixonian." Douglas Muzzio, a Baruch College political scientist, commented that "The Watergate analogy is inescapable." Republican George Winner, Chairman of the Senate Investigations Committee, stated that the governor was "stonewalling" and remarked that it "Sounds like he didn't learn too much from Nixon, that the cover-up is worse than the crime." Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Legislature's top Democrat, called what was done to Mr. Bruno "horrendous", and added "The real question here is how much did the governor know and when did he know it."
Skelos noted Cuomo's investigators never questioned Spitzer or a top aide mentioned in the report, Secretary to the Governor Rich Baum, who received e-mails related to the plot. Cuomo spokesman Jeffrey Lerner said Spitzer's counsel provided the e-mails and that Baum and Dopp refused requests to be interviewed, opting instead to provide sworn written statements. He added that speaking to Spitzer would be unnecessary because there was little evidence of criminal or improper activity. Democrat Amy Paulin, an Assemblywoman, acknowledged that "The general public wants to know who knew what when," noting that "Until we put this behind us, there will be a credibility gap." Assemblyman William Parment, also a Democrat, added that "Coming clean would be the best thing to do."
Spitzer defended the decision not to provide testimony, saying that it was not necessary for Baum and Dopp to be questioned after Cuomo determined no crime was committed. The attorney general's office said investigators rejected the sworn statements of Dopp and Baum since both men refused to testify, and some observers have noted this has left several questions unanswered. These omissions have prompted speculation that the governor may have been involved in some way. Jeffrey Lerner, a spokesman for the Attorney General, stated that "We told the Governor's Counsel's office that we wanted to interview Darren Dopp and Richard Baum. The Governor's Counsel's office declined and instead sent sworn written statements. We had no power to compel testimony," and that "our investigators decided not (to) include the written statements as they did not have the chance to interview Dopp and Baum." The Governor said that the written statements by Baum and Dopp were "sufficient for the attorney general to close its investigation," and reiterated that he was not involved in the decision to not have Baum and Dopp testify before Cuomo. Still, their sworn statements were not accepted for use in the report.
Read more about this topic: Eliot Spitzer Political Surveillance Controversy
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