PrintAugust 5, 2007
Their own 'facts'
An old saying states that, "You're entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts." This concept seems to be lost on the editorial page writers of The New York Times, whose lead editorial yesterday included the following statements:
It seems that everywhere they turn these days, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his staff face another investigation. There have already been two inquiries into the pushing of State Police to release embarrassing information about the governor's top political opponent, Senator Joseph Bruno.
and
...Mr. Bruno may want to use the hearings to divert attention from his own questionable use of taxpayer-funded helicopters.
The problem, of course, is that although the Governor's aides (hard to believe without the Governor's knowledge and/or direction) misused state police in an attempt to find misuse of state helicopters and vehicles, there simply hadn't been any, as confirmed by the report of Sate Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The use of phrases such as "release embarrassing information" and "his own questionable use" are no more than unwarranted smears by the Times in its own effort to discredit Republican Senate Majority Leader Bruno and defend a vitriolic Democratic governor of the Gray Lady's liking.
Such investigations as are now contemplated, incidentally, prospectively by the State Ethics Committee, a prospective special prosecutor, and/or the Albany County District Attorney, are all into the conduct of Spitzer and his staffers in the matter -- not into anything Bruno might have done.
