Ethics board seeks Spitzer aide’s diary in probe
January 11, 2008
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s ethics board will seek the full diary and notes of a former aide to Gov. Eliot Spitzer covering months when the administration was accused of political dirty tricks against Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno.
On Friday, the former aide, Darren Dopp, returned to the state Capitol complex for the first time publicly since he resigned in October. He was working in his new public relations job, representing a client at a news conference. Dopp refused to comment on the ethics probe.
Walter Ayres, spokesman for the state Public Integrity Commission, said a court ruling Thursday paves the way for subpoenaing Dopp’s diary and notes.
A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday rejected an effort to block the subpoena.
Dopp’s attorney, Michael Koenig, said the court refused to prohibit the Spitzer administration from releasing data, but doesn’t require that the diary and notes be released. Koenig said he is still considering an appeal of the decision.
The judge also rejected Koenig’s motion to halt the state commission’s investigation until the criminal investigation by Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares is complete. Koenig argued that it’s unfair for one person to be subject ot demands from two competing investigations when one is a criminal probe. He also said the findings by the commission could unfairly influence a criminal investigation.
Dopp was suspended and later resigned after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo reported in July that he and another aide engaged in misconduct — but broke no laws — when they released state police travel records in an effort to discredit Bruno.
“With this ruling, we are proceeding to obtain Mr. Dopp’s diary or notes,” Ayres said Friday.
The Albany County district attorney, who until now has found no evidence of a crime, misconduct or a plot against Bruno, has also been reevaluating Dopp’s statements to officials in several investigations of the scandal.
Dopp had compiled records of Bruno’s travel on days he used state aircraft and state police drivers to mix meetings with lobbyists with Republican fundraisers. The data was released after a newspaper requested it under the state Freedom of Information Law.
On Friday, the former aide, Darren Dopp, returned to the state Capitol complex for the first time publicly since he resigned in October. He was working in his new public relations job, representing a client at a news conference. Dopp refused to comment on the ethics probe.
Walter Ayres, spokesman for the state Public Integrity Commission, said a court ruling Thursday paves the way for subpoenaing Dopp’s diary and notes.
Also on Friday, the integrity commission clarified its 2007 advisory opinion that officials must reimburse the state for portions of trips that include political events. The clarification requires members of public officials’ staffs to repay the state for travel that includes political events if the staffers aren’t deemed essential personnel, such as security guards.
The commission’s opinion tightened the rules for using the state’s helicopters and airplanes. A previous opinion by the state Ethics Commission, the forerunner of the Public Integrity Commission, allowed free use of the aircraft by officials for political purposes as long as some official state business was conducted on the trip.
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