Two sides of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s personality are revealed in recently released transcripts of two interviews he gave on the same subject under oath last year.
In the first interview, given several months after his resignation, Spitzer is cooperative and deferential.
In the second interview, he’s combative and dismissive, often interrupting his questioner, the state inspector general, Joseph Fisch, a former state Supreme Court justice.
Eliot Spitzer
Fisch was trying to determine if Herbert Teitelbaum, the executive director of the state’s Commission on Public Integrity, had acted improperly during a 2007 investigation that focused, in part, on Spitzer’s staff.
Teitelbaum allegedly had leaked information about the investigation to Robert Hermann, a member of Spitzer’s cabinet.
The first interview with Spitzer took place in September 2008; the second, a month later. The shift in tone between the two is not explained.
However, it may just be that the second interview got off to a bad start with an awkward series of questions that alluded to Spitzer’s life since it was revealed that he had patronized prostitutes, a revelation that led to his resignation.
“What is the status of press, media coverage of your activities?” Fisch asks as the interview begins.
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask them,” Spitzer replies
“Do they - no, do you find them outside your office, outside your home?” Fisch then asks.
“They - I guess I’m a little - I’m happy to answer that question,” Spitzer answers. “I’m not sure why under oath I’m being asked what the status of my press coverage is.”
Fisch then says that he asked because he “just wondered.”
Spitzer responds, saying that there are photographers “constantly” trying to determine his whereabouts.
A little later, Spitzer complains that the office of the current governor, David A. Paterson, had released some Spitzer e-mails that were related to his children.
Fisch then tries to explain something and Spitzer interrupts him mid-sentence, saying, “My time is precious, judge, what is your question?”
Precious time or no precious time, Spitzer interrupts Fisch a few more times, once to bring up a Sunday Daily News cover photograph that showed him and his wife.
Finally, the interview gets back to subject at hand - the investigation of the possible leaked information.
However, Spitzer remains defensive, often saying that he does not want to repeat or change what he said in his first interview with Fisch.
The testy nature of the second interview contrasts sharply with that of the interview conducted in September.
In that session, Spitzer is cordial, sometimes expansive.
He’s always careful to not “pass judgment” upon the activities of others, though he sees the whole investigation into the investigation as a diversion from important state issues.
“I obviously want to thank you for your service,” he says to Fisch at the end of the first interview, sounding as if he were still governor, “but I wish Albany could get back to doing things that matter.”
The transcripts of the two interviews were released last week along with a report in which Fisch called for Teitelbaum to be fired.
Teitelbaum resigned this week, saying he had done nothing wrong, but that he did not want the debate over him to distract from the work of the commission.
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