WXXI: Senate Committee to Meet on "Troopergate" (2007-08-08)

The State Senate Investigations Committee is scheduled Thursday to hold a meeting to look into the misuse of the state police by two top aides to Governor Eliot Spitzer. The meeting comes amid word that one of the key people the committee expected to hear testimony from, the State Inspector General, has dropped out.

The Senate Investigations Committee had sought testimony from State Inspector General Kristine Hamman, to explain her role in a joint investigation with the Attorney General that concluded that two aides to Governor Spitzer had improperly used the state police to keep track of some of Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's movements. Hamman initially indicated to the committee that she would appear personally at the hearing, but now her spokesman says Hamman's counsel will attend instead.

The Inspector General has also recused herself from the matter. Hamman reports to Spitzer's chief of Staff, Richard Baum. Baum, while not accused of any wrongdoing, was connected by an e-mail to the two staffers accused of hatching the plot, and questions have been raised about his involvement. In an op ed piece, the chair of the Senate Committee, George Winner, said the Spitzer Administration is facing "serious and unanswered questions of integrity, propriety, and trust".