NEW YORK – We’re learning more each day about the details surrounding the investigation by federal authorities of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Eliot Spitzer’s downfall was swift, but was it criminal?

And with each revelation comes a series of questions. Just how did this investigation get started? Was the investigation conducted properly? And—perhaps most important—is this a case that truly deserves to be the subject of a federal prosecution?

The facts—at least what we’ve learned so far—do seem troubling. Despite the disgust that most people feel for Spitzer, not just over his conduct but also over his blatant hypocrisy, there’s some real doubt that this should be a federal case.

Once it became clear that the governor’s conduct involved marital infidelity and not official corruption, why continue to invest the time and energy that were utilized? Surveillance teams? Wiretapping? All over a series of paid-for sexual trysts? At a time when our law enforcement resources are so terribly stretched attempting to combat terrorism threats, drug offenses and organized crime?

Although law enforcement is certainly not a democratic process, driven by the vote of the people, it is difficult to imagine that most people would feel a compelling need to prosecute a “john”—even if that “john” is named Spitzer– for trying to hide what were apparently payments using his own money. Or for paying the transportation and hotel costs for a prostitute willingly offering her services, especially given the history of the “Mann Act” which was intended to protect against forced prostitution.

Hypocrisy, infidelity and arrogance may well be political offenses, but should they be prosecuted as federal crimes? We’re still looking for an answer from the Federal authorities for that question.

– Jack Ford, In Session anchor

NEW YORK – And So Eliot Spitzer is out. He’ll be long gone by Monday and I’m fine with that, but here’s what I’m not fine with: the reaction on Wall Street because the traders and the bankers and the hedge fund mangers I’ve talked to are positively giddy about Spitzer’s downfall. And that’s not right.

Jami Floyd has the Last Word on Wall Street’s gleeful reaction to Eliot Spitzer’s downfall.

First of all there are his wife and children to think about, no one should be happy to see them suffer. But second, and most offensive, is the reason these money men are tap dancing on Spitzer’s political grave.

It’s because he went after Wall Street with a vengeance, he vowed to root out white-collar crime, to clean up the corruption down there and he did. And that’s a good thing because greed is not always good.

So yes, it’s shocking to see the anti-crime crusader caught up in an FBI vice sting, but whatever Spitzer’s bad acts turn out to be it won’t excuse the corruption on Wall Street he sought to cure.

And that is the Last Word.

– Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

NEW YORK – By now you’ve heard that Eliot Spitzer has stepped down as Governor of New York. But he still could face serious criminal charges, and that got me thinking about prostitution.

Jami Floyd gets the Last Word on Eliot Spitzer.

I’ve tried a lot of those cases. And here’s what you learn right away: as much as the sex trade is about sex, it’s also about trade. Business. Supply and demand.

Where I practiced law in California, the criminal code is gender neutral. It targets anyone engaged in the commercial sex trade. The girls, their johns, even the pimps when you can catch them.

Not so here in New York where the women involved in prostitution have long been treated more harshly than the men. But Eliot Spitzer changed all that, with a new law that increases penalties for the men who solicit sex.

The thinking? Cut off demand and supply will dry up. And that’s the tragic irony. Now, it seems, Governor Spitzer may be one of the very johns his new law seeks to punish.

And that is the Last Word.

– Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

NEW YORK – He made his career as a hard-charging prosecutor, targeting the rich and powerful of Wall Street as he championed the struggle for ethics and morality in business and government.

Gov.Eliot Spitzer offered an apology but admitted no wrongdoing.

Now, Eliot Spitzer finds himself squarely within the crosshairs of his own ethics and morality scandal. Not surprisingly, there has been no shortage of opinion concerning the precarious position of Spitzer’s political career. Read more about the political fallout

The richer irony, according to many who don’t count themselves as fans of the New York governor, is the real possibility of criminal charges arising out of this scandal.

Although it is true that so-called “johns” are not generally charged (and certainly not in federal court), this is not a simple case of soliciting a prostitute on some street corner.

Reports suggest that Spitzer had engaged in a number of transactions with the high-priced prostitution ring and that, in at least one instance, the transaction had required a prostitute to travel from New York to Washington for the assignation.

In addition, the situation had apparently come to the attention of federal authorities because of banking irregularities related to the governor’s attempts to disguise the transfer of funds for the services provided.

If what is being reported is true, authorities may well be looking at charges focusing on the violation of a statute dealing with the interstate transportation of a woman for purposes of prostitution. And they could be looking the possible violation of a number of banking laws related to Spitzer’s apparent scheme for making payments to the prostitution ring.

It seems, then, that Spitzer’s widely anticipated resignation will not necessarily signal the end of this story. The moral? If you choose to anoint yourself “The Sheriff,” you better be sure your badge isn’t tarnished.

– Jack Ford, In Session anchor

NEW YORK – When are politicians and public figures going to wake up and smell the headlines? America’s favorite stories don’t just occur when juicy crimes are committed. They occur when juicy indiscretions are coupled with sexy hypocrisy and dazzling double-speak.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer faces reporters on Monday with wife Silda by his side.

Elliot Spitzer, the Harvard educated former top cop in New York, and, perhaps for now, the governor here, is learning this the hard way. That’s a $4,300 understatement. Watch Spitzer’s apology

Spitzer, if ANYONE, should know that the cover-up is always bigger than the crime, and that any criminal who precedes his crime by pontificating against it, falls hardest.

It’s not that allegedly paying a hooker is so difficult for Americans to digest. Next to farming, prostitution is the world’s oldest profession. But no one likes a no-good, double talking hypocrite who once locked people up for getting their jollies, then allegedly ascended to the quiet confines of an expensive hotel suite to, well, get his jollies.

This is not a debate about prostitution, or even pimping. It’s a debate about two-faced men like Spitzer, Mark Foley, Bill Clinton, Larry Craig, Jim McGreevy, Gary Hart, Jim Bakker, and the Reverend Ted Haggard not practicing what they preach.

Why is this so tough to process? It seems fairly simple. It’s wrong to say one thing, bust people for it, and then do another. It’s wrong to fight for the protection of kids, and then act as a sexual predator. It’s wrong to lead the nation, and then lie, even about sex. It’s wrong to condemn gay people for their lifestyle and then get caught allegedly engaging in the same behavior that is part of that lifestyle you condemn. It’s wrong to preach about family values, while getting down and dirty with hookers. And it’s wrong to dope up on methamphetamine while rubbing up next to a male prostitute, especially if you’re preaching against that.

Where’s the debate in any of this? Mr. Spitzer says he needs time alone with his family now, and that this is a “private matter.” I’m not sure where in his law degree he figures this is private. Perhaps he means “personal.” Because, yes, Mr. Spitzer, it is personal. It’s very personal to many of us who trusted in your good work only to see it revealed as hypocritical self-righteousness. It’s personal to publicly see your family suffer for your foolish indiscretions. And while it may be personal, Mr. Spitzer should be well aware that it is NOT private.

He saw to that when he ascended to his position of power and busted two sophisticated prostitution rings, decrying those involved as common criminals. Now that he could be facing a similar prosecution his newest crisis may be an identity crisis. Will his name forever be Mudd… or just Client #9?

– Ashleigh Banfield, In Session anchor