Regardless of your feelings about Spitzer, does anyone else think it is outrageous that the FBI

[yellowcanine]

puts so much effort into trying to catch public officials with their pants down instead of tracking down terrorists and others who are an actual threat to public safety?

[Ian David]

1. If Roger Stone and his bisexual wife spent time fighting terrorists instead of fighting Spitzer...

... we'd all be a lot safer.


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[peacetalksforall]

19. Thanks for posting - I never followed all this stuff at the time and it is stuff

that should not be missed.

So how many years has Spitzer been targeted?

Why are some Dems such good friends with the Repubs who do this stuff?

Does anyone think the lemming who calls into WJ to praise the Lord for George Bush ever reads anything involving the World of Dirty Tricks - Republican Style?

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. "Public officials with their pants down" are a bigger threat than terrorists

That is because A) public officials with their pants down are far more likely to exist and B) Democratic public officials with their pants down are much more useful to the Junta for their ability to distract from the ever increasing war deaths, the failing economy, the expansion of unemployed, the lack of available health care....

[kentuck]

3. This is not totally disconnected from Bush's speech this morning..

He is using the FBI to spy on his political opponents and all Americans. He must be held accountable.

[papau]

4. former NYSE director Kenneth Langone & friends appear to have detectives 24/7/365 on Spitzer - he

said that he "knew for a fact" that Spitzer went to the Post Office and obtained money orders so that checks were not made out to the sex service - when asked how he knew - he "knew the fellow in line behind Spitzer when he did the transaction".

[Junkdrawer]

5. The whole "SAR report initiated the investigation" story is bullshit backfill...

but "they" got what "they" wanted and the story will now disappear.

[grasswire]

17. there's a $500 limit on postal money orders

...and if you use them much they start writing your info down in some kind of a database. In fact, you can cash a postal money order at any post office, but if you do you get marked "suspicious." I used to cash them when I was working eBay, and I know customers are being tracked in some kind of system.

[papau]

23. I agree - which makes Langone's comment even more interesting

[AndyA]

6. Yes.

I also think it's insane that Congress is investigating and holding hearings on steroid use in pro sports. Meanwhile, across town, we have a pResident who has started a war based on lies, one that has killed almost 4,000 American troops and untold Iraqi citizens.

A war that is bankrupting this country to the tune of $12 BILLION per month.

We have a pResident who is breaking the law by spying on American citizens without going through the proper procedures, and then lied about it when he got caught.

We have a pResident who has ordered that prisoners be tortured in order to obtain information from them, whether it's accurate or not.

We have the most corrupt administration in the history of our country.

So, yes, the FBI investigating prostitution instead of focusing on really important matters is outrageous. But no more so than Congress ignoring what's been going on over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

That's insanity!

[yellowcanine]

7. Exactly. And I would add, it is a waste of resources to close down medical pot houses

in California.

[selador]

11. it's a violation of state's rights

i know the term 'state's rights' may rub people the wrong way, but that's how i see it

the people of california legalized medical mj

it SHOULD be a state issue.

[madokie]

10. Damn Andy you've got it nailed

[madokie]

8. Personally I find it to be scary and in wonder if it is even proper

someone who is suspected to be trading favors for sex yes but the ole boy or girl out on their own dollar, so to say, its none of my business. This brings me to the realization that its hard for them, the FBI or CIA, to be looking for something that exist in the imaginations of their puppet masters warped minds only so where do they start with that. I guess the agents feel they have to be doing something, I don't know

[selador]

9. no, because

again, they were NOT investigating prostitution

they were investigating suspicious MONEY transfers

they assumed (for good reason) that a public official with suspicious money transfers was involved with far more serious offenses.

only once the investigation moved on did they discover it was to an organized prostitution ring

[yellowcanine]

15. What exactly constitutes a "suspicious money transfer"? I suspect in the Bush world, it is ANY

money transfer. I call bullshit on that one.

[selador]

16. rubbish

these banking laws have been in place for DECADES

for pete's sake, spitzer used them themselves

i've addressed this extensively in other posts. so, i'm not going to reinvent the wheel here.


i've WORKED with IRS agents (and DOJ) on more than a few investigations involving financial transactions.

[Junkdrawer]

22. That's their story and they're sticking to it.

And since Spitzer resigned, NO ONE will be investigating what REALLY happened.

Chalk another one up for Big Brother.

[pokerfan]

24. I was a juror in a structuring trial once

Some dude was accused of attempting to evade currency reporting act. He wanted to buy a used car and wanted to pay cash. He withdrew $13K of his own money from his bank using two consecutive personal checks, one for $6K and one for $7K because he didn't want to have to fill out any unnecessary paperwork. That's what he told the teller and she confirmed that under testimony. In reality he doesn't have to fill out any paperwork as the bank does it automatically. The bank reported him to the IRS and he was charged with attempting to break the law, which is a crime in itself.

I was elected foreman and I immediately called for a vote just to see where we stood. I was the only one arguing for aquittal. It took a few hours but I managed to flip everyone to my side. I sort of felt like Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men.

My argument was that the federal prosecutors had failed to prove intent and punch a hole in the "unnecessary paperwork" defense. The judge had really stressed this point to us in his instructions. Maybe the defense was a complete fiction. Maybe it wasn't. I can't read minds. But I think that we had reasonable doubt.

[NNN0LHI]

12. I think having a governor traipsing around with trollops is a threat to public safety

Opens himself up to blackmail.

Don

[yellowcanine]

14. "Opening oneself up tp blackmail" is not a crime, however. If the FBI were to

investigate all cases of public officials doing things they could be blackmailed for they truly would not get anything else done. Besides, it is the blackmailer who is committing a crime (extortion), not the person being blackmailed.

[bluestateguy]

13. After 9/11 the feds should have cancelled stupid investiagtions like this one

The federal government should not concern itself with consenting adults who buy and sell sexual services for money. Free enterprise.

As criminal matters the feds should only be concerned with child porn and sexual slavery.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. Yes, because what other people do with their own money and sex organs is their business and not

the government's nor mine.

[TreasonousBastard]

20. Actually, I find it disturbing that EVERY transaction...

is looked at and assigned a value.

If you buy a cheeseburger with a Visa card, it is in a database and assigned a low value because you are irrelevant and it's only a cheeseburger. If you are a Governor and buy a cheeseburgwer, it is assigned a higher value. If you are a Governor and tranfer $5,000, it is assigned a very high value.

But, the thing is that every transaction-- every check, deposit, purchase, or transfer-- is looked at by prying eyes. And it has been this way for years.

[hootinholler]

21. What terrorists?

Seriously.

-Hoot