But there’s no plea deal regarding the potential federal charges. Is it possible that the feds are going to do to Spitzer what Spitzer paid to do to “Kristen”? (HT: JOM):

Eliot Spitzer’s tumultuous tumble from the zenith of a promising political career to the nadir of a shocking sex scandal came as no surprise Wednesday as the bright, bull-headed governor announced his resignation, effective Monday, under bloating pressure from state lawmakers and the public.

Lt. Gov. David Paterson will become the 55th governor of New York and the state’s first black governor.

There were rumors that the once-heralded Democrat had negotiated a plea deal to avoid jail time in the case, but U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia squashed those rumors. “There is no agreement between this Office and Gov. Eliot Spitzer, relating to his resignation or any other matter,” he said in a statement to CBS 2.

That leaves Spitzer open to being indicted and facing prison time.

Curiouser and curiouser. The conventional wisdom amongst the legal pundits has been that Spitzer didn’t resign because he was in negotiations to cut a deal with federal prosecutors. In order to get the deal, according to this theory, Spitzer couldn’t resign first since that would rob him of his only bargaining chip.

It’s hard to say whether those negotiations (if they occurred) simply broke down and the pressure became too great for Spitzer to remain in the Governor’s Mansion, or if perhaps the feds just didn’t care whether he resigned or not, so offering up his office wasn’t really a chip at all. Either way, he’s gone and he’s not going to be involved in politics again any time soon. I just hope the feds show Spitzer as much mercy as he showed those whom he prosecuted.

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