Eliot Spitzer Political Surveillance Controversy - Senate Investigation

Senate Investigation

Both the state Ethics Commission and the Senate investigations committee have announced they have requested all interview transcripts, notes, e-mail and other material from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation and would review the matter. The Governor said he would allow both senior aides to testify, and testify himself if subpoenaed by the State Ethics Commission. When asked about the possibility, Spitzer said "that might happen. I don't know what path to take," and that "if there are investigations, we cooperate with investigations. I'm not sure where this will go." The State Assembly is not expected to conduct its own inquire or participate in any joint legislative investigation, after Speaker Silver stated that "I have no need to hold any hearings to go further," and that "We heard from the top law enforcement officer in the state, Andrew Cuomo. A lot of misjudgments were made, but there was no criminality."

State Senate Majority Leader Bruno did not rule out using subpoena powers to get under oath Spitzer's statements on the matter, telling reporters that the facts will "speak for themselves as they unfold." While some have questioned the Senate's motives and constitutional authority to conduct an investigation, Assembly Democrat Richard Brodsky explained that the Governor's office may not be able to claim executive privilege to resist an investigation, stating "Assertions of executive privilege have usually not been upheld under New York law and in the most recent litigation, which I conducted, the governor's office appeared asserting executive privilege and was unsuccessful," in reference to a 2004 case in which a State Supreme Court judge rejected Governor George Pataki's claim of executive privilege, saying the governor's staff could not withhold documents from a legislative committee seeking information about a controversial contract to develop property along the Erie Canal. Bruno concluded that "What I want is the truth, and there are others that are third parties who are going to be objective, pragmatic. All we want is the truth. And people will, once they know the truth, then we'll know what the guilt is on the part of whoever's been involved."