Seek Spitzer Aides' Private E-Mails;

Bruno Charges Cover-Up
Seek Spitzer Aides' Private E-Mails


Governor Spitzer's problems resulting from the revelation that his top aides were involved in drumming up stories meant to embarrass Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno intensified last week when it was revealed that some aides used private BlackBerrys to communicate about political matters.

GOVERNOR SPITZER: Still under fire. A spokeswoman for the Governor confirmed that use - with the BlackBerrys being paid for by campaign funds - after the New York Post reported Aug. 6 that Darren Dopp, whom Mr. Spitzer recently suspended as his Communications Director, and Secretary to the Governor Richard Baum had not turned over e-mail messages from those BlackBerrys to the State Attorney General's Office.

Found Political Hit

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo late last month issued a report finding that key Spitzer aides, including Mr. Dopp and Acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton, had gone to extraordinary lengths to produce negative newspaper stories about Senator Bruno's use of state helicopters for business that was heavily political rather than governmental.

JOSEPH L. BRUNO: Suspects a cover-up. Although the Attorney General concluded that no law had been broken by Mr. Spitzer's aides - who also included then-Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security William Howard - he did so without being able to question Mr. Dopp and Mr. Baum. Both men, acting on the advice of Mr. Spitzer's Counsel, had submitted written statements about their actions. Mr. Baum has not been accused of impropriety, but investigators for the Attorney General's Office concluded that he was aware of the efforts to discredit Mr. Bruno.

May Subpoena Aides

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who could use his subpoena power to compel those aides to testify under oath, has begun a preliminary inquiry into whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

The New York Times quoted an official in Mr. Cuomo's office as saying that the Attorney General had been advised by someone from Mr. Spitzer's staff that "all relevant e-mails" had been turned over upon request.

BlackBerry Abuse?

Mr. Spitzer's spokeswoman, Christine Anderson, who noted that she was among the staffers who had their own BlackBerrys, said they were used "for personal or political purposes so as not to use state resources for nonstate communications."

Senator Bruno suggested, however, that the private BlackBerrys might have been used to discuss the machinations to discredit him. In a radio interview with Fred Dicker, the Post state editor who broke the story of the private BlackBerrys and their possible role, Mr. Bruno said the e-mails transmitted on them should be subpoenaed to determine whether they figure into what "appears to be a cover-up."

Mr. Dicker had noted that one of the suspicious aspects of the incident was that while Mr. Baum had received e-mail messages about the anti-Bruno effort, none of the e-mails from his government accounts acknowledged those messages.

During a speech last week at the Chautauqua Institution, Mr. Spitzer acknowledged that mistakes had been made by his office, and said he needed to operate with more humility so that "righteousness" didn't deteriorate into "self-righteousness."

Staff Disciplined

He has continued to insist, however, that he was unaware that Mr. Dopp and Mr. Howard were involved in obtaining Mr. Bruno's helicopter records and may have prompted the Albany Times-Union to file the Freedom of Information requests that later became the basis for stories about the Majority Leader's air travel.

Mr. Dopp was suspended indefinitely shortly after Mr. Cuomo's report was issued, and Mr. Howard - a holdover from the Pataki administration - has been transferred to another job in the Office of Homeland Security. No disciplinary action has been taken against Mr. Baum.