Albany Watch

Subpoena time for governor’s aides

October

The Senate Investigations Committee, which recently voted to authorize its chairman to issue subpoenas, is demanding that two of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s staffers provide e-mails on work, personal and political-campaign accounts and other documents to help the panel in its continuing probe of Troopergate. The Committee issued subpoenas for the information to Richard Baum, secretary to the governor, and Darren Dopp, Spitzer’s communications director who has been on leave since late July. The two have until next Friday to supply the documents.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a report in late July saying that top aides to Spitzer—Dopp and now-reassigned public safety adviser William Howard—released information about Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno’s use of state aircraft in an attempt to discredit the governor’s political rival.

Winner said his committee is looking into the administration’s use of State Police to gather information on Bruno and its use of the state’s Freedom of Information Law to release it. (Cuomo’s report said the aides misused the law in releasing information to an Albany newspaper. Albany County District Attorney David Soares said they did not. Cuomo and Soares both said the staffers did not violate laws.)

Dopp is also being asked to testify before the committee by Oct. 29. Next in the subpoena line to testify personally are Baum, Howard and acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton. (Felton was asked to appear before the committee last month but declined.)

â€œWe have a constitutional obligation to carry out our legislative responsibilities in response to findings of misconduct within the Spitzer administration,â€? Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner, R-Elmira, said in a statement this afternoon. â€œTo do that effectively, we need a clearer picture of what occurred, when, who was involved, and how it was carried out.â€?

This entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 4:21 pm by Cara Matthews.
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