Darren Dopp

Say one thing for Eliot Spitzer, in light of newly released testimony from the Troopergate affair: He knows how to stick to a story.

The former governor was spared, from a legal standpoint, because, according to the State Commission on Public Integrity: "[t]he failure to supervise subordinates, without more, does not violate the Public Officers Law." (The commission made public some 277 pages of sworn testimony it took from Mr. Spitzer on May 9 in Manhattan, and found that four of Mr. Spitzer's aides violates ethics law.)

But the documents do show the way in which Mr. Spitzer held fast to his claim, even after he left office, that it was his staff and not he who ordered the state police to create and disseminate travel records of Joe Bruno, who was then majority leader in the State Senate and Mr.  read more »

Earlier today the state's Commission on Public Integrity settled their claims against two of the four people investigated in the Troopergate probe--and now the agency has published several of the sworn testimonies online, including Spitzer's.

It will take me a while to go through them all (the files are so large it will take me a while to even open them), so if you see anything of note put it in the comments section.

Also, testimonies from Christine Anderson, Darren Dopp, Daniel Wiese, William Howard and others are here.

UPDATE: While still trying to open Spitzer's testimony, I skimmed through the Ethics Commission summary, which makes this powerfully worded (if not self-evident) point rather clear:

"The Executive Chamber's actions were flatly ad odds with its duty to assist this Commission's investigation and the promises of Governor Spitzer that his Administration was cooperating fully with the Commission's investigation.  read more »

• 1 comment

Some of the most significant collateral damage from Eliot Spitzer's implosion involves the reputations of two of his one-time allies: former communications director Darren Dopp (the original scapegoat for Troopergate) and David Soares, the Albany County District Attorney (who is the current scapegoat).

Dopp has been on the offensive trying to clear his name, speaking at length with the New York Times, and -- just this this morning -- providing the New York Post with his version of the testimony he gave to the state’s Public Integrity Commission.

The transcript Dopp provided undermines Soares’ initial report into the Troopergate incident, which alleged Dopp acted as a rogue agent and inappropriately ordered the state police to re-create travel records for state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, who received protection from the police (as is customary for legislative leaders).  read more »

Darren Dopp, wearing a jacket and tie, talks to a few reporters in the L.G.A. (Legislative Correspondents Association), just like old times.

Eliot Spitzer is making his second trip to Washington D.C. today, to explain his decision to back off his plan to allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.

Spitzer will make the announcement flanked by New York’s Democratic congressional delegation, which almost uniformly opposes a related aspect of that driver’s license policy: the federal Real ID Act.

The long-term political question is going to be whether this will be the beginning of a second act for Spitzer, in which he finally regains control of a governing agenda that's been getting away from him since he took office. Short-term, though, the question will be whether this will really allow him to step away cleanly from the licensing issue at all. Certainly, his Republican opponents will do their best to see that the controversy lingers.

More after the jump.  read more »

So, what to make of Darren Dopp’s refusal to obey a subpoena from the state legislature, claiming executive privilege?

“I don’t see anything specific that’s going to be directly related to this,” said Peter Galie, chair of the department of political science at Caisius College in Buffalo, after skimming through a copy of the state constitution in his office.

“It’s all going to be inferences from logical constructs that can be developed from certain basic provisions like ‘faithfully execute’ and ‘the executive power.’”

With what result?

“My bet is I would be surprised if the courts upheld this,” Galie said, referring to the governor’s claim of executive privilege. “Unless the governor can demonstrate very clearly that this is going to be such an intrusive request for information that it’s going to make it difficult for him to do his job, or for bureaucrats to do their job, he’s going to lose.”

UPDATE: I tried getting the thoughts of another legal expert, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Via email, his spokesman declined to comment on the situation.  read more »

Darren Dopp’s lawyer won’t say what his client said during nine hours of testimony in front of the Commission on Public Integrity, but whatever it was, he says it left Dopp in a great mood.

“The testimony that was given yesterday was given in confidence and I don’t think I can discuss it in any particular way,” said lawyer Terrence Kindlon. But: “As Darren and I were walking down Washington Avenue to the parking garage there was a definite spring in his step that could not be denied.”

Kindlon said the door, technically, is still open for Dopp to be called back.
 
“Nobody indicated that to me, but it that possibility wasn’t foreclosed either," he said. "You know, we ended so late last night that the automatic system in the building turned the lights off on us so we were all sitting there in the complete dark at one point."

I asked, somewhat jokingly, whether that might be a metaphor for how the investigation is going.

“I was going to say I think it is a metaphor, but we had to go out and find someone that knew how to work the building computer to turn the lights back on again."

Even as Darren Dopp prepares to take a job with Patricia Lynch Associates , he's still listed on the state government's web site as the governor's communications director.

Which prompted the question, during a discussion I had with another reporter last night, of who's going to replace him.

One candidate would seem to be the director of communications for the state Division of Budget, Jeffrey Gordon, who has been working in the governor's press office "on an interim basis" since Dopp's suspension from his job in July. (Which, by the way, marked the first time since Spitzer's been in elected office that he didn't have Dopp as his communications director.)

Any other ideas?

UPDATE: Gordon told me in an email that no changes to the press office have been made.

So, why didn’t Darren Dopp stay on at his job with Eliot Spitzer? Dopp isn’t taking questions, but I just got the authorized version from his lawyer, Terrence Kindlon.

“Well, that’s a great question. He’s moving on after being exonerated,” Kindlon said.

Where was he exonerated?

“In the DA’s office in Albany County.”

More after the jump.  read more »

The fact that Darren Dopp now has a job at Patricia Lynch’s lobbying firm seems to demonstrate, among other things, that he's viewed as a valuable commodity on the ground in Albany even after being named as a key figure in the biggest scandal to affect the Spitzer administration so far.

(As Wayne Barrett and Bill Hammond note, just because it's the biggest doesn't mean that it's that big.)

“Either Pat Lynch is the smartest person in the world, or the dumbest. And my bet is she is the smartest,” said Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

Why?

More after the jump.  read more »

After hearing that Republican Majority Leader Joe Bruno’s conference subpoenaed Eliot Spitzer’s top aides, Rich Baum and Darren Dopp, State Senator Tom Duane offered the following piece of advice: go see a shrink.

In a telephone conversation just now, Duane told me, "I think Senator Bruno’s feelings were hurt. I can understand that. But to drag the legislature through his hurt is, I think, unfortunate. At this point, I would suggest seeing a mental health professional, since we passed Timothy’s Law. He’s eligible."

Duane added, "I feel bad for him. I do. But enough of the public sympathy. Time to move on. People have done means things to me and I just decided to let go after a while."

The subpoena for Baum was for records, while the one for Dopp was for him to testify in front of the investigations committee. But that’s not such a big deal, said Duane.

“I don’t think there is a penalty for not showing up. Somebody told me there is a $50 fine for not showing up.”

Eliot Spitzer's top aides Rich Baum and Darren Dopp were subpoenaed by the state Senate Republicans. The subpoena to Baum, Spitzer's secretary, is for documents, emails and information. The one issued to Dopp, Spitzer's director of communications, is for him to testify before a Senate Committee on October 29th.

Both men played prominent roles in the plan to use the state police to track Senate Republican Leader Joe Bruno's use of state aircraft.

In a public statement from Senate Republicans, they said,

"The subpoenas demand that, by Friday, October 19, a detailed compilation of a range of Executive Chamber communications and policy directives dating back to January 1, 2007 be delivered to the committee. The committee is seeking documents, public and private e-mails, correspondence, meeting notes, memoranda, Blackberry communications, and other information from Spitzer’s inner circle relevant to the 'crafting, drafting, and !-- D(["mb","with respect to uses and abuses of the FOIL procedures.”  The Spitzer aides\u003cbr /\>are also being asked to produce a list or description of any relevant\u003cbr /\>documents or communications that have been destroyed or changed in any way.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>      Winner said the subpoena issued to Baum is for documents and\u003cbr /\>information.  Dopp was subpoenaed to appear personally before the committee\u003cbr /\>by October 29th, and testify on his role in what has been widely reported\u003cbr /\>as a political plot to damage State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.\u003cbr /\>The committee also expects to issue subpoenas for testimony to Baum, former\u003cbr /\>Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security Bill Howard, and acting State Police\u003cbr /\>Superintendent Preston Felton.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>      An investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo revealed that key\u003cbr /\>members of Spitzer’s inner circle -- including Dopp, Howard and, possibly,\u003cbr /\>Baum -- worked in concert with New York State Police Acting Superintendent\u003cbr /\>Preston L. Felton to create travel records and information under the\u003cbr /\>pretext of a FOIL request from the Albany Times Union.   Cuomo found that\u003cbr /\>their “conduct deviated from State Police standard operating procedures and\u003cbr /\>past practices, and was not required by FOIL.”  He added that his\u003cbr /\>investigation “raised serious issues about the State Police’s handling of\u003cbr /\>documents and information.”\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>      Since the release of Cuomo’s investigative report on July 23, the\u003cbr /\>Senate Investigations Committee has convened three public hearings to\u003cbr /\>solicit testimony in response to the Attorney General’s recommendations for\u003cbr /\>a review of the FOIL process to evaluate whether FOIL requests directed to\u003cbr /\>the governor’s office should be referred to the relevant entity within the\u003cbr /\>executive department, and to establish a new ethics policy and protocols\u003cbr /\>between the State Police and the governor’s office.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>      At its third hearing, on September 24, the committee formally called\u003cbr /\>",1] ); //-->introduction of legislation concerning the administration of government with respect to uses and abuses of the FOIL procedures.' "

Earlier, Dopp's lawyer, Terrence Kindlon, told me he probably fight any effort by Senate Republicans to question his client.  read more »

Eliot Spitzer confirmed to reporters in Colonie that he answered questions from the Albany County District Attorney regarding the plan to use state police to create records of Joe Bruno’s use of official state aircraft.

I emailed Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson and asked if the governor spoke under oath. She declined to say.

Republicans are sure to seize on that point if, as expected, the district attorney declines to bring criminal charges against the governor or his aides.

But the implications are interesting for reasons that go beyond straight politics.  read more »

Darren Dopp spoke to the Albany County District Attorney’s office for three hours today (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and turned over some private email communications he had with a reporter, according to his lawyer, Terrence Kindlon.

The emails had “no bearing” on the Troopergate scandal, said Kindlon, and were of a personal nature. The DA’s office, he said, had requested the electronic communications to see whether Dopp had coordinated with a reporter to submit a FOIL request that Dopp later used to get the state police to create records about Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno’s use of state aircraft.

The questions were “all basically follow-up questions,” said Kindlon. Dopp was not under oath because the DA’s office had not asked him to be.

Kindlon said that Dopp had also been prepared to speak with Inspector  General Kristine Hamann’s office when the scandal first broke in July.

“He actually was contacted and agreed to be questioned but that was cancelled. They cancelled it before he ever got to it,” said Kindlon.

The lawyer for Eliot Spitzer's aide, Darren Dopp, said his client is cooperating fully with any and all "legitimately constituted" investigations into the Troopergate scandal. 

"Darren Dopp has nothing to hide. He hasn’t done anything wrong. And he is answering any and all questions that are being asked of him by any legitimately constituted governmental authority," said Terrence Kindlon.

Does that include the Senate Ethics Committee?

"I haven’t decided yet whether that’s lawfully constituted yet or whether its’ just a political gag. If it’s just some public relations thing that Joe Bruno ginned up, we’re not going to do it. That would be stupid. And it’s a waist of our time and taxpayer money."

He added, "My vision of Joe Bruno, and it came to me yesterday, he looks like a polar bear on a little tiny piece of ice that’s melting rapidly as his power ebbs away."

I checked in with Eliot Spitzer's office about the status of Darren Dopp, the suspended communications director who has returned to the state payroll while questions linger about the role he played in the Bruno travel affair.

Jeffrey Gordon, a Spitzer spokesman, told me Dopp has about ten weeks of vacation time but said it was not determined what will happen once that time is up. (Newsday has Dopp's vacation time at 12 weeks).

Gordon said that Dopp's vacation time accrued from his years working in the Attorney General's office when Spitzer was elected to that job in 1998.

One interesting thing about today's announcement about the reassigment of a scandal-tarred top aide to Eliot Spitzer is that at the end of the day, it's not so bad: the aide, William Howard, will still have a six-figure job as Coordinator of the Preparedness and Response at the State Office of Homeland Security. Howard, who was Spitzer’s assistant Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, will start in his new job on Monday.

The apparently good news for Howard may not be such good news for another Spitzer aide, Darren Dopp. According to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s report on the ethics scandal, in which the governor's aides improperly requested information on Joe Bruno's travel schedule from the state police, “Howard testified that he asked for the scheduling information at Dopp’s request.”

In addition to calling for investigations of Eliot Spitzer’s office, Joe Bruno is now proposing legislation to prevent state officials from using the state police to collect information on political leaders.

In a public statement, Bruno said, “While these panels move forward with their work, it is critically important that we develop legislation that addresses the abuses documented in the Attorney General’s report related to the misuse of the State Police and other abuse of power by the Executive.  read more »

Here are transcriptions of two sworn statements from Spitzer aides Darren Dopp and Richard Baum about the Bruno affair that the governor's office just sent to us.

From Dopp:

"I received requests for information relating to the use of state aircraft by public officials from members of the media. In response to these requests, I sought information that the public had a right to know. Although I never directed the State Police to conduct a 'surveillance' program on Senator Bruno, I did receive from William Howard information relating to Senator Bruno's travels generated by the State Police. I now recognize that any requests for State Police records relating to those travels should have been handled through other channels, and I regret any appearance of impropriety that was created by the manner in which this information was sought and obtained."

From Baum:

"I understand that Darren Dopp was working with the press on a story about the alleged misuse of State aircraft by Senator Bruno. I did not direct the State Police to conduct any surveillance of Senator Bruno, and did not direct anyone else to do so. In addition, I did not direct the State Police to create, re- create or maintain any records relating to Senator Bruno, and did not direct anyone else to do so. Finally, I did not direct the State Police to change their standard operating procedures relating to travel recordkeeping in any way, and did not direct anyone else to do so."

Both statements are dated Sunday, July 22, 2007.  read more »

One of the most damaging elements of today’s report from Andrew Cuomo, I think, is an email from May showing two of Spitzer’s top aides, Rich Baum and Darren Dopp, discussing how to spread the Joe Bruno story to reporters. That is, just before any reporters had filed any Freedom of Information requests or made any formal inquiries about Bruno.

But as late as a few weeks ago, Spitzer was defending the actions of his aides, two of whom he suspended earlier today.

So, when did Spitzer learn what was happening?

Surrounded by reporters in his midtown office, Spitzer tried explaining as follows:

“First, I would observe that the facts as reported in the document, the report that was issued today, in fact do make it--without embracing your adjectives --make it clear that there were some conversations among those individuals on how to illicit information. Whether or not it was responsive to a media inquiry at that time is something the attorney general has concluded it was not. Obviously I believed at the time when I answered the question two weeks ago, three weeks ago--I forget the precise date--that it was. I became aware of this discrepancy recently.”

Eliot Spitzer just announced the first round of transition hires. They are, not surprisingly, drawn heavily from the inner circle of advisors who steered him on his path to the governor's mansion.

* Rich Baum-Secretary to the Governor (former chief of staff in AG office)

* Paul Francis-Budget Director (former campaign policy director)

* David Nocenti-Counsel (former counsel in AG office)

* Francine James-Appointments Secretary (former Assistant 1st Deputy AG)

* Darren Dopp-Communications Director (former Communications Director in AG office)

* Christine Anderson-press secretary (campaign press secretary)

Included in the announcement is a link to Spitzer's new inauguration website which he says will offer "full details" about the upcoming festivities, which Team Spitzer notes will be "the first outdoor inauguration in New York's history."

A new day indeed.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here is the letter that Republican comptroller candidate Christopher Callaghan sent to the Albany DA asking him to press charges against Alan Hevesi over the chauffeur incident.

Although Hevesi promised to repay the state three years' worth of reimbursements, Callaghan wrote, "we can't take his claimed intentions to repay any more seriously than we would those of a clerk who has borrowed money from a cash drawer."

It'll be interesting to see what Eliot Spitzer's reaction is to the issue. On one hand, he's unlikely to take a gratuitous swipe at a fellow Democrat right before an election. On the other hand, it would certainly provide him with an neat opportunity to burnish his credentials as a watchdog on public corruption, the one notable gap from his paradigm-shifting tenure as attorney general.  read more »

Spokesman Darren Dopp said that the AGs office would theoretically represent the State Ethics Commission in any action against Hevesi, but that for now, he couldn't comment any further.

UPDATE: Here is Callaghan's other letter to Sptzer's AG office about "campaign contributions [to]...and favors rendered" by Hevesi. -- Azi Paybarah

As a rising tide of controversy engulfs Lenora Fulani, perennial nominee of the Independence Party,  read more »