NY Gov. Spitzer faces inquiries in ethics probe

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The day after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation amid a scandal over a $1,000-an-hour prostitute, his lawyers were in court fighting separate ethics charges they said were politically motivated.

Lawyers for Spitzer, a Democrat, and the Republican-led state Senate committee appeared at a hearing on Thursday over accusations that Spitzer's administration used the state police to spy on the Senate's top Republican, Joseph Bruno, for political purposes.

A feud between Bruno and Spitzer dominated Spitzer's 14-month tenure as governor and culminated in Bruno accusing Spitzer of misusing state resources to damage his reputation.

Spitzer's resignation was a spectacular downfall for the former New York state chief prosecutor who built his career with an air of moral indignation for criminals large and small.

A probe by the state attorney general was highly critical of the Spitzer administration's handling of the Bruno matter.

A senate committee has subpoenaed internal e-mails and other documents as part of its own inquiry.

On Thursday, Dietrich Snell, a lawyer for the governor, asked Judge Richard Braun to reject those subpoenas, saying they were part of "a politically motivated effort to keep the public eye on a set of events."

"What's at stake are the confidential communications that took place at the highest levels," he said, calling the inquiry "a fishing expedition."

But David Lewis, a lawyer for the committee, said the inquiry was legitimate and for the public good.

"This is not necessarily who's sitting in the governor's chair but, rather, what are the boundaries, what are the parameters?" Lewis said.

The chair of the investigating committee, State Senator George Winner, said on Wednesday he would submit his findings to the Public Integrity Commission.

The commission, he said, is "empowered to look to investigate and still take action against officials of the state government, even after they've left office."

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Flood Morrow in Albany; Editing by Daniel Trotta and John O'Callaghan)