Congress to Probe Spitzer Case

No, they don't care that the chief law enforcement officer of New York State was wiring money to a prostitution ring. What Barney Frank and pals want to know is whether the disgraced former governor of New York was targeted because he's a Democrat.

Nice to see the Democrats have their priorities in order. If you ask me, Barney Frank investigating anything to do with prostitution rings is more than a bit amusing.

A Congressional committee is investigating the circumstances that led to the downfall of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer earlier this year, and whether expanded powers under the Patriot Act were misused by federal agents.

Spitzer resigned as governor after his February rendezvous with a prostitute at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington came to light as part of a federal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and other law enforcement agencies.

Ostensibly, Spitzer was in Washington at the time to testify before part of the House Financial Services Committee. Now, that committee demands to know how and why the Democratic governor popped up on the radar of criminal investigators.

Officials have said a number of unusual money transfers by the governor triggered a "suspicious activity report," or SAR, within the banking system. Eventually, that SAR led to a full-blown criminal investigation of Spitzer.

"We have no concern about Eliot Spitzer. That is not what this is about," said Steve Adamske, spokesman for Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank. Frank could not immediately be reached for comment.

The panel seeks details of the Spitzer case only to the extent that it shows how effective the suspicious activity reports have been in catching terrorists and their financiers, Adamske said.

He said the panel would like to know exactly how the Spitzer case started.

"It is a concern that we have that (the law) could be used for political reasons," Adamske said.

Yes, and we know Democrats would never use law enforcement for political purposes.

Meanwhile, the booker for the hookers was spared jail time. Maybe Barney can have her testify how those mean old feds terrorized her.