Spitzer Resigns

Kimberly Strassel, in WSJ’s Opinion Journal, analyzes Spitzer’s Media Enablers. WSJ’s Review & Outlook discusses the use and abuse of old statutes in prosecuting current crimes in Of Martin and Mann. The reference is to New York’s Martin Act, which Spitzer used as Attorney General as part of his effort to intimidate Wall Street, and the Mann Act, the old federal prostitution statute, which may be used against Spitzer himself. The Washington Post has the resignation story. One thing is clear as the fog begins to lift in this scandal; for the SDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office to be even contemplating charging Spitzer under the Mann Act is unprecedented and appalling. It is virtually unheard of for a call-girl customer to be prosecuted at the federal level. This would constitute a clear abuse of prosecutorial discretion.