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March 10, 2008
You fucking tool.
When an admirable, progressive, two-fisted attorney general in a notoriously corrupt state becomes governor, it's a heartening moment.
Then he has a bad first year in office, where his impolitic passion for reform collides with entrenched interests who thwart his efforts.
But as a new year arrives, he seems to turn a corner, and he builds on his impressive image as a no-nonsense, law-and-order guy who's acutely focused on issues in the broadly public interest.
Oh, and did I mention that what happens next is you find out he's a big fan of hiring expensive prostitutes who'll travel across state lines to have sex with him?
I try not to moralize too much. But this dickhead had the gall to hold himself up as a moral authority on a side I support, and I believed in him. I held out a bit of hope that he was smart enough to navigate a difficult path, and that he'd help the progressive cause in the process.
Apparently I'm not yet cynical enough to be numb to disappointment. But you're helping me to get there, Eliot, you dumb dipshit.
This NY Times summation of a certain affidavit tells the story concisely. It also uses the adjective "choicier" ("one of Washington’s choicer hotels"); almost as bad a choice as one of Governor Spitzer's.
Room 871 had been booked under the name of George Fox, a pseudonym that Client 9 had been using, and one by which several people in the ring knew him, according to a law enforcement official. However, a few of the prostitutes had recently come to realize who the man really was, the official said.The affidavit said Client 9 contacted the Emperor’s Club last month, requesting an appointment on Feb. 13 at 9 or 10 p.m. The appointment was to be in Washington, and he sent along what appears to have been a deposit of cash by mail.
Apparently, it was not his first time using the service. The affidavit captures the almost mundane financial back-and-forth prior to the meeting, quoting Ms. Lewis as telling her boss, Mark Brener, the owner of the ring, that Client 9 had a $400 or $500 credit to his name and wished to use it toward his next appointment.
When Ms. Lewis spoke to the client on Feb. 12, the affidavit said, she told him that his deposit had not yet arrived and asked if he had sent it to a business known as QAT.
“Yup, same as in the past,” the client said. “No question about it.”
Affidavit: Client 9 and Room 871 (NY Times)
