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Investigation Finds Drugs in Tap Water; Health Scare in Las Vegas; "The New York Times" Reports: Eliot Spitzer Linked to Prostitution Ring

Aired March 10, 2008 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in today for Kyra Phillips.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: We begin the 2:00 hour of the CNN NEWSROOM with politics.

Democratic presidential candidates set their sights on Mississippi. Barack Obama responds to Hillary Clinton's vice presidential dream ticket proposal, while Hillary Clinton's looking ahead to Pennsylvania's primary next month with a rally today in Scranton.

Republican John McCain, well, it's all about the money. After taking in a Phoenix Suns' game yesterday, he's on a weeklong fundraising blitz.

And we begin our political ticker with Barack Obama's strong response to talk of a possible joint Democratic ticket just moments ago. Now, that issue has been raised lately by Hillary Clinton.

Here's what Obama said a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just want everybody to be absolutely clear here, OK? I want everybody to be absolutely clear. We are in a tough battle. And I don't presume that I have won this election. Senator Clinton is fighting hard. She is tenacious. I respect her for that.

She is working hard to win the nomination. But I want everybody to be absolutely clear. I'm not running for vice president. I'm running for president of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Obama says he doesn't know how Clinton would offer him the second spot on the ticket, because right now she's in second place.

Hillary Clinton isn't the only one with her campaign to take her angle on the joint ticket with Barack Obama. The latest to join the chorus? Her husband. The former president had this to say at a campaign stop for his wife in Biloxi, Mississippi...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He would win the urban areas and the upscale voters, and she wins the traditional rural areas that we lost when President Reagan was president. If you put those two things together, you'd have an almost unstoppable force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hillary Clinton also acknowledged the possibility of a joint ticket during a separate stop last week in Mississippi.

Democratic Party leaders are weighing ideas about solving the party's huge Michigan and Florida problem. The latest buzz is a possible mail-in revote.

Clinton and Obama surrogates aren't ruling it out. The main concern? How to pay for it. Both states were stripped of their Democratic delegates for moving up their primaries.

All the latest campaign news is available right at your fingertips. Just go to CNNPolitics.com. Plus, analysis from the best political team on television. That and more, CNNPolitics.com.

NGUYEN: Also making news today, antibiotics, mood stabilizers, sex hormones, painkillers? Now, we're not talking about your drugstore, we're talking about your tap water.

A five-month "Associated Press" investigation finds trace amounts of drugs in the tap water of 41 million Americans in two dozen major metropolitan areas. Now, we emphasize the word "trace," but just how serious is this problem in the long term?

Well, let's bring in our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

When you hear that, it is a bit shocking to know that all of those drugs, even though it's in trace amounts, could be in our water system.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And the bottom line, Betty, is that we don't really know what it's doing to us to drink this stuff day in and day out, because they're just now figuring out that it's in the water in the first place.

Let's take a look at this "Associated Press" five-month investigation, what it found. Here's a couple of sample cities.

In Atlanta, they found that there were antibiotics and a blood pressure drug in the water. In Cincinnati, a cholesterol drug and estrogen, which is used pharmaceutically. In New York City, traces of an anti-seizure drug and anti-anxiety drug.

Several water systems had many, many drugs. Philadelphia, for example, had 56 different drugs in the water.

Now, if you're thinking to yourself, how in the world do drugs get in the water? The answer is we take drugs, our body doesn't absorb everything, our body gets rid of some of it. That sewage is then treated and then can end up in tap water.

Let's take a look at what the Environmental Protection Agency has to say. They are the government agency that regulates water.

They say, "We're taking this very seriously. We recognize there's a growing concern about the presence of pharmaceuticals in our water. We're evaluating the potential health effects of contaminants at low levels when they occur and how best to remove them."

But low levels, again, emphasizing teeny, tiny parts per trillion. That's the kind of levels we're hearing about.

NGUYEN: Right. But hearing that the EPA is looking into it makes you think, well, in the meantime, what do I do? I mean, is drinking bottled water the answer here?

COHEN: You know what? Everyone, even environmentalists, say, look, do not turn the tap off -- keep drinking water, the water system is safe -- while we look into this problem. And bottled water might not help you, because bottled water is often just repackaged tap water, so it's the same deal. And also, filters aren't really designed in general to get rid of pharmaceuticals.

They're designed to get rid of lead and they're designed to get rid of E. coli and things like that, but not drugs. This is sort of a whole new area.

NGUYEN: Yes. And we don't know the long-term effects, so you don't want people just to, you know, not drink water.

COHEN: Right. I mean, you have to drinking water.

NGUYEN: Right.

COHEN: And right now we can't say, oh, this one source, that's absolutely safe. Unfortunately we can't say that right now.

NGUYEN: All right. We'll just have to wait on people to do the research and the testing.

COHEN: That's right.

NGUYEN: Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

NGUYEN: Well, do you live in one of those affected areas? Here's what you can do. You can log on to CNN.com/health to see a complete map. Simply roll your cursor over any of the affected states to get a list of cities involved and the drugs ejected. Again, that's CNN.com/health. (NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. This just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. When you thought politics couldn't get any more interesting this year, according to "The New York Times," we have learned, according to that newspaper, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been informed -- he has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring. In a prostitution ring.

That's really all "The New York Times" is saying. But, again, he has informed his senior administration officials that he has been involved or implicated in a prostitution ring. We expect to hear from Governor Spitzer at about 2:15 Eastern, 2:15 Eastern.

Governor Spitzer is a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and in the often seamy ways of Albany, New York. He's married with three children. And as attorney general there, he also prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state's organized crime task force.

But again, Elliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring. That is according to "The New York Times." Details on this story still unfolding.

NGUYEN: Well, in the meantime, the CDC calls it the largest medical alert in U.S. history. Thousands at risk of potentially deadly infections from misused or reused needles at a Las Vegas clinic.

CNN's Chris Lawrence reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A Nevada health scare that put 40,000 people at risk of hepatitis and HIV may have caused even more infections than first believed. Some people treated at this outpatient surgery center were left off the first alert, and health inspectors have now turned up violations at other clinics.

LISA JONES, NEVADA STATE LICENSING BUREAU: In some places we're seeing reuse of medication vials, in some cases issues with how syringes are used.

LAWRENCE: Investigators have promised to inspect all 50 of the state centers. Five nurses have volunteered to give up their licenses, and the doctors could be next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He ruined a lot of lives, and mine are one of them.

LAWRENCE: We're concealing this patient's identity to protect her family's privacy. Pam is a married mother of five who says she went in for hernia treatment and came out infected with Hepatitis C.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I can't believe that -- me, me, how could it happen to me?

LAWRENCE: Pam recently got one of the 40,000 letters sent to patients at risk. Is there any way you could have had Hepatitis C before you went to this clinic?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never. There's no way.

LAWRENCE: Hepatitis C is typically transmitted through blood or semen. It attacks the liver and kills as many as 10,000 Americans every year.

SUSAN GERHARDT, NEVADA STATE ASSEMBLY: I think that the people who perpetrated this are absolutely monstrous.

LAWRENCE: At least six cases of hepatitis have been traced to this clinic, and five of those patients were treated on the same day. The owner has agreed to stop practicing medicine until the investigation is complete.

But he says the problems have been corrected, and the chances of contracting an infection are extremely low. There's no proof Pam was infected here, but she seems sure of it.

LAWRENCE (on-camera): What's your biggest worry, your biggest fear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leaving my babies alone without a mom, and it could have been prevented. It could have been.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): It's too late for patients like Pam, but this week the CDC is sending several experts to Nevada, and it calls the crisis the tip of the iceberg of a potential national problem.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Our breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM, we told you about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Well, he is -- "The New York Times" is telling CNN and is reporting on their Web site that he has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring. That is all the information we're getting from "The New York Times," but again, earlier today he gathered those officials, said that he had been involved in this.

And "The New York Times" is reporting 2:15, at any moment now, Governor Spitzer should talk about this in Albany. But, again, as a first-term Democrat he said that he wanted to cut out all of that sort of thing in Albany and in New York. And now he is being implicated in something.

Also, when he was attorney general, he had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state's organized crime task force. But again, "The New York Times" reporting Eliot Spitzer linked to a prostitution ring.

Very interesting stuff coming out of New York. And then as I said, later on in Albany today, we're going to get a response from Eliot Spitzer.

But Ben Smith is on the line, and he joins us now, and he is at -- Ben, are you at the governor's mansion? Are you at City Hall? Where are you in New York? Ben, are you there?

BEN SMITH, POLITICO.COM: Hi.

LEMON: Hi, Ben. How are you?

SMITH: Good.

LEMON: Ben, you were supposed to join us later for our political roundtable, and then this story happened. Where are you real quickly? And tell us what's going on.

I'm in New York City Hall. My colleagues are all racing up to midtown for his planned press conference that should be starting any minute now.

LEMON: So he's going to have a press conference in Manhattan, and it's not in Albany?

SMITH: Right.

LEMON: OK. Well, what's going on? The story just broke just a few minutes ago.

SMITH: You know, what we know is that "The New York Times" reported a few minutes ago that he was "involved," that he told senior staffers that he was involved in a prostitution ring. You know, this is not something that's whispered about in New York. This isn't something that was in the air. This came right out of the blue.

LEMON: Yes. I had never heard this. I mean, you hear things that are sort of whispered about, and then finally when they rise to the surface, you're like, oh, you know, people had talked about that for a long time. But nothing like this at all, especially Eliot Spitzer, who, you know, was attorney general.

SMITH: Absolutely not.

LEMON: And then, you know, he said that he was going to get rid of corruption and any sort of wrongdoing in Albany.

SMITH: Yes, his image is that -- the reality, that he's an incredibly (INAUDIBLE) guy, with this moral -- you know, this very personal, moral approach to politics. A very -- you know, opponents say self-righteous approach to politics.

LEMON: OK.

SMITH: So, and including -- and including (INAUDIBLE) prostitution in the past. So...

LEMON: Do you know anything about this ring, this alleged ring that apparently he has -- you're saying he's admitting being linked to it?

SMITH: It looks like it was a federal case, but I don't think -- we don't know anything about the details right now.

LEMON: OK. So, you don't know anything about this.

In your coverage at politico.com and doing stories on Eliot Spitzer -- I know we just talked about never had you heard anything about this, but not even that he would be involved in this, but really about his character as well. This just really seems out of the realm.

SMITH: Absolutely. I mean, you know, he's married with kids. And just has this image of -- I mean, he -- of being the most sort of upright kind of character, and that's really very central to his political persona, to who he is.

But he's never been shy about passing judgment on others. I think that will -- it's already honestly (INAUDIBLE) in New York political circles over this, where he has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

LEMON: Yes. And for a lot of people, I mean, having heard Eliot Spitzer's name for a long time, living in the New York area, New York, New Jersey, and that tri-state area, he's very familiar with people there.

But Ben, tell us a little bit, our viewers a little bit about Eliot Spitzer and sort of his rise to becoming the governor of New York.

SMITH: Well, he was -- he was elected -- he ran in the mid-'90s to become New York City attorney general, lost, ran again, in part using his father's -- the money of his father, a very prominent real estate developer. And he once -- once he was elected, he basically kind of carved out this very large, enlarged role for the attorney general. Kind of crusader, particularly against Wall Street, though other issues as well.

Took on these very high-profile fights with some of the brokerage houses, won them -- basically won them all. Made some enemies in the process, but, you know, used all the tools at his disposal to crack down on practices that has been common in the insurance industry, which he basically successfully portrayed in the press as kind of immoral. Even more than illegal.

LEMON: Yes. And he came in to the fold, if I'm correct, I think, a storied career. Robert Morgenthal sort of brought him into the fold.

SMITH: As I recall, in the rackets unit, actually.

LEMON: Yes. SMITH: In the Manhattan district attorney's office...

LEMON: Right.

SMITH: ... busting organized crimes. Setting up, you know, wiretaps, things like -- all the sort of -- the kind of street-level prosecutorial tactics.

LEMON: Back in '92, involved in the Gambino organized crime family case, which involved trucking and the garment industry. Back then, I think -- I don't remember, he was not involved in the Mollen Commission, was he?

SMITH: I don't think so. He kind of brought that take-no- prisoners prosecutorial style to Albany, and after winning, you know, a huge 70 percent mandate, has had a lot of trouble making anything happen, just because politicians don't really, you know -- politicians who don't have to respond to that kind of coercion tend not to. And he hasn't -- you know, he -- he -- a lot of the political class think that he holds himself above them, and that's been a big problem.

LEMON: Yes.

SMITH: Charlie Rangel, the congressman from Harlem, refers to him as the smartest man in the room, and refers to him derisively that way. So he doesn't have a lot of friends in New York politics.

LEMON: So, Ben, you're at City Hall and you're covering politics as you do every day, as well as a lot of political reporters in New York City, and all of a sudden this comes across the wire, it comes across the television, and everybody just scrambles.

SMITH: Everybody jumps up, shouts profanities, and runs for the doors, yes.

LEMON: And runs for the door.

What are you hearing there now when this -- we said 2:15. It's 2:23, coming up on 2:30 here now. Any idea when he's going to speak? Any word on what he's going to say?

SMITH: I mean, any -- any minute now.

LEMON: Any minute now.

Hey, Betty has got a couple questions.

SMITH: Everybody's -- everybody's tapping their feet just like we are. And it's...

LEMON: OK.

SMITH: I mean, this is, yes, the last thing anybody expected to happen today.

NGUYEN: Well, Ben, this is Betty. As we wait for Spitzer to go ahead and make that announcement that we're expecting any minute now, let me ask you this -- when it comes to the cases dealing with prostitution rings, the cases that are ongoing right now, what do you think is under way that would make him say this, make him come out and have this public announcement today? Obviously something must be in the works to expose him for him to go ahead and make this public announcement.

SMITH: I mean, "The Times" reported that there was an extensive prosecution ring busted last week in this story, but that's I think -- I know more than I read here. And so the only reason you would do something like this if the authorities are about to do it for you.

NGUYEN: And this totally goes against this man's image. I mean, he's married with three kids, and he was brought in to pretty much clean up things in the area.

SMITH: Yes, although there's different -- I don't think New York politics is particularly known for unforgiving moral tenor. I mean, you know, he wasn't brought in to, you know, end sex in the state of New York. So, it's not, you know, straightforwardly contradictory in that way.

NGUYEN: All right. Ben Smith with politico.com.

Ben, we'll be speaking with you obviously as we wait for this news conference to take place any minute now.

But in the meantime, we have a quick break to get in. As soon as that conference gets under way, of course we'll bring that to you live.

You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Just within the last few minutes we have some very interesting news into the CNN NEWSROOM.

"The New York Times" is reporting that the governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, possibly involved, linked to a prostitution ring. At any moment now he's supposed to meet with his staff and also with the press and talk about this.

Apparently, earlier he informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring. That is according to one administration official. That's what they told CNN.

Now, in all of Eliot Spitzer's background and all of his history, nothing like this. In fact, he was the person who was supposed to clean up corruption in New York City. And then as attorney general he had worked with trying to free the streets and the Internet of prostitution rings, organized crime, and those sorts of issues.

Joining us on the phone now, Ben Smith, politico.com, covering Eliot Spitzer and politics for years.

This is certainly, certainly, Ben, a huge surprise.

SMITH: Absolutely. I mean, there are politicians about whom this stuff is whispered, you know. I mean, everybody knows that it's not just whispered on late-night television, but he is absolutely not one of them.

LEMON: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I said we've seen big stories that have happened, you know, with political officials. Even in recent times I can remember, it's sort of whispered about and people go, oh, is this person this way, did this person do this, is this person what have you?

But it never rises to the level -- or sometimes it doesn't rise to the level where it's reported in the media. And then when it does, those of us who are in the media are not surprised by it, when there's enough evidence to put it in the media. But this is something no one had any idea about it.

SMITH: Absolutely. I mean, as you say, it's -- he has this very clear reputation for kind of personal (INAUDIBLE). And actually -- was one of the issues he's campaigned against. He signed the bill into law -- you know, regulations on sex trafficking last summer.

So it's -- you know, everybody in New York is scratching their heads. And I mean, it's just a huge story here. I think it's certainly going to paralyze this administration. I mean, and the question that people are asking now is whether he can politically survive it.

LEMON: Yes. When you're -- Betty sort of hinted at this earlier. I mean, usually if something like this comes out, for him to bring, if this is indeed true, for ""The New York Times" to write this, to bring your senior administration officials together and tell them about this, there has to be some pretty damning evidence or something that is going to come out that would force you to do this.

SMITH: Yes. And The Times made reference to a federal bust of I think four -- four people had been arrested in a prostitution -- a high-end prostitution bust last week.

LEMON: Yes.

SMITH: The reason you tend to have a press conference like this is so that you can do it before the FBI does.

LEMON: Yes. And there was a high-profile prostitution ring busted last week. There was also something that had to do with running online -- an online prosecution ring as well. So there were a number of things.

But his specialty -- I mean, this was part of what Eliot Spitzer did, now that I'm recalling from being there. But mostly for him it was organized crime. That was his big sort of claim to fame back in the '90s and then now.

SMITH: That's right. He ran for -- attorney general as kind of a mob buster. And -- you know prostitution and organized crime certainly go hand in hand. We, again, have no more details of this case other than what we've just said. But it's -- I mean, it's just kind of -- it's one of these things that, sort of because it's personal and -- on the, sort of, public hypocrisy level, seem likely to really wrack his administration.

LEMON: So, you're just standing by now. You said everybody is just kind of waiting any moment now?

SMITH: Eliot Spitzer's expected to talk. He's running 15 minutes late. You can't really blame him, right?

LEMON: Yes. Last time something like this -- what was the last time we saw something like this? I don't -- probably --

SMITH: There was that whole thing in the White House in the 1990s.

LEMON: Well, it was probably also --

SMITH: As we vaguely recall.

LEMON: Yes. But there was something in the -- I remember sort of the same sort of feeling when the New Jersey governor just stepped in front of the microphone, it was just sort of that, everyone goes, what -- what is going on?

SMITH: And that's also -- everyone in America went, what? But the reporters in the New Jersey statehouse said now you all know what we've known all along. These were rumors for years -- things like that.

LEMON: But nothing like that in this case.

SMITH: There's a story that his people had been trying to keep out of the (INAUDIBLE) for quite a while. And this just is not that. This is a real surprise to insiders. It's really -- everybody is reeling.

LEMON: Yes. So, Ben, what do you do next from here? I mean, I guess there's -- except for "The New York Times" who apparently --- someone from his office gave them some information. I guess what we just do is wait to hear what Eliot Spitzer's going to say.

SMITH: Yes, I think, I think, he's going to be (INAUDIBLE) here as long as he beats the federal authorities out with it.

LEMON: Yes. Who -- who's going to take over, lieutenant governor there?

SMITH: Well, I don't think it's -- I mean, I'm not sure it's a foregone conclusion at all, but the fact that --

LEMON: If worse comes to worse.

SMITH: The lieutenant governor is David Paterson, the former state senator from Harlem. He was a big political asset to Spitzer when he ran, helped kind of make him friends in the African-American community. He's a less -- he's never run a state -- never run a state before, no executive experience. I've got a very interesting personal story. He's basically blind.

LEMON: Yes. So tell us about -- you said that Eliot Spitzer does not have many friends in New York City politics. Why is that?

SMITH: Because he describes himself as an "expletive deleted steamroller" -- to one politician he was yelling at to try to get him to do what he wanted. He came in with this big mandate and really tried to stampede over the legislature which is traditionally very powerful.

Got beaten in a couple of high-profile fights. And just, you know, he just -- he hasn't been able to get all the things done that he knows he can get done.

LEMON: OK. All right. Ben Smith from politico.com. Hey, thank you. And as soon as you get more information on this, if you hear anything, please get back to us, sir.

SMITH: You'll be my first call.

LEMON: All right. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, in the meantime, we will continue to follow this story. In fact, we have Jeffrey Toobin on the phone. He's CNN's senior legal analyst. He's joining us now.

And Jeffrey, you, in fact, went to law school with Eliot Spitzer. What do you know about him? Is this a complete shock to you?

VOICE OF JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I mean, to say it's a shock is an understatement. And Eliot, for 20 years, has been the biggest straight arrow I know. All he ever wears is white shirts and he has made moral rectitude the hallmark of his public persona.

I mean, he has been -- he was best known and most successful as the attorney general of New York, where he took on Wall Street and, you know, he is known for being very moralistic. And I think his many enemies -- and he has plenty of them -- will seize on the issue of hypocrisy, of someone who at the same time as, you know, criticizing the ethics and morals of others, if this is true, is the client of a prostitution ring.

Now, what that means for his political career, whether he resigns, whether he runs for re-election, whether he, you know -- what the future is, if he's prosecuted, if he's not, I don't know any of those things. But certainly it's a big, big shock.

NGUYEN: And, you know, as we're waiting for this public announcement, we've been trying to get at this point. Since we learned of this, for Spitzer to come out and make an announcement like this, if indeed he will, according to "The New York Times," something has to be in the works to, I guess, force someone's hand. You wouldn't just come out with this information if something wasn't going to be leaked, would you think?

TOOBIN: Well, you would think. That's certainly true. We'll know soon enough. This is all so strange. I met Eliot when he and another student were working with Professor Alan Dershowitz on Claus Von Bulow's defense. Eliot was a student assistant to Alan on that case.

And one of the funny things about that case was that was this very sordid attempted murder case involving rich people in Newport, Rhode Island. And it was viewed among our group of friends as uncharacteristic for Eliot who was such a straight arrow to be involved in such a seedy case. So, I guess, you know, you just never really know people.

NGUYEN: Guess not. And --

TOOBIN: And of course I know his wife and his three children. It's just -- it's an ugly, ugly thing to have to deal with in public.

NGUYEN: Right. I was about to get to that. As you mentioned, he's married with three children. This is a man who stood on ethics and moral rectitude, as you said. He started as attorney general and he prosecuted at least two prosecution rings. And in a case in 2004, Jeffrey, he spoke with revulsion and anger announcing the arrest of 16 people operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.

And so, do you think that maybe perhaps, especially knowing the inner workings of a prostitution ring when you're trying to prosecute this and you're getting the details here, you would pretty know to -- obviously to stay away from something like this, because it would take you down. It just doesn't make any sense.

TOOBIN: I don't know, Betty -- Betty, I don't think you need a lot of special --

NGUYEN: Yes.

TOOBIN: -- education or experience to know to stay away from prostitutes. I don't think that takes a lot of, you know, experience.

NGUYEN: But if anyone were to stay away, you would think Eliot Spitzer would.

TOOBIN: Well of course, if anyone -- yes. Yes, you would think if anyone would know. But the world is full of people who do incredibly stupid things. And I guess we are -- we may be in the presence of one more high-profile person doing that.

But, you know, I -- I have no explanation. When I heard about this this morning, I was probably more shocked than most people, because I know of his reputation. NGUYEN: Yes, and, you know, at the same time, I mean, in due fairness, this is what's being reported in "The New York Times." We have not heard from Governor Spitzer just yet. Although a news conference was supposed to take place at 2:15 Eastern, a little over 20 minutes from now.

So, we will obviously wait to hear before any judgment is passed in this case, because we obviously have not heard from the governor himself. And we do want to make that very clear.

Jeffrey Toobin joining us from vacation on the phone as he is just learning of this, as we are, here at CNN. So, of course, we'll continue to follow this story and bring you the latest just as soon as we get it.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, it came as a surprise to everyone, it certainly came as a surprise to reporters in New York City. This story involving the governor, Eliot Spitzer, that "The New York Times" is reporting about.

Our Allan Chernoff is in our New York bureau with the very latest on what he is learning from there -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, I have to tell you, we are all stunned. I personally, actually, went on the "The New York Times"' site for something else, about a half hour ago, and saw this all of a sudden pop on to the screen, and I was just stunned, frankly. I mean, it's just unbelievable to so many of us here.

Eliot Spitzer certainly had been known pretty much as Mr. Clean. As you know, he had been the attorney general of New York state. A lot of people would describe him as self-righteous. He had brought many cases. He was a rising star in the Democratic party; easily won as governor.

Among the cases he brought as attorney general, he battled Wall Street firms, certainly researched conflict of interests. He brokered a big settlement in Wall Street; forced a lot of Wall Street firms to pay up big. He worked on market timing issues as well, charging that many mutual fund companies were violating ethics, cheating customers.

He has an ongoing battle, well, at least the attorney general does now, since he's governor, but he brought a case against the former chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, Dick Grasso, charging that he was earning excessive compensation as the head of a nonprofit organization. He also has played hardball since becoming governor.

One big scandal was the fact that his aides were found to have been trying to tarnish the Senate majority leader, the top Republican in the state, Joe Bruno. And that has been, until now, the big scandal surrounding Mr. Spitzer. But this, frankly, is just a blockbuster. And we are all just waiting to hear what Mr. Spitzer is going to say.

LEMON: And, of course, that is -- that's really it, Allan, because he has not spoken at all. All we're hearing and all that many of us know is that this story's being reported by "The New York Times," and they are saying that he has informed his senior administration that he had been involved in a prostitution ring -- he has informed them.

So, we don't know for sure. And we won't know, again, until he -- until he talks about it. But, of course, the big shock in all of this is that he was, you know, this guy that -- as you said, Mr. Clean, and I think his last -- the biography that was written about him, let me see here, back in 2006 called him -- new Spitzer biography reveals crusading good kid with a dark side. So, you know, all of it good for him, really no negative press, at least when it comes to improprieties or anything of that issue.

CHERNOFF: Family man as well three kids. He's often seen with his wife in public. He -- he and -- you know, he does play hardball. He's certainly, you know, a tough -- a tough player. But, you know, that's not unheard of in the political world. And certainly among attorneys general.

But, again, you know, he was just a landmark attorney general here in New York state. A real crusader and now for news like this to come out, if it is, in fact, true, it really is an incredible shock. The local stations here have broken into their programming, broken into their soap operas to make this announcement. That's how big it is.

Of course it would be big news anywhere, any governor, but particularly Mr. Spitzer who, as we've said, really has battled crime and has had a Mr. Clean image.

NGUYEN: Allan, this is Betty here in Atlanta. Where are we with that news conference? Because, according to "The New York Times," it was supposed to start at 2:15 Eastern. It's now coming up on 2:45. And I mean, have the mics been set up? Where is this supposed to happen? And is it, indeed, going to happen?

CHERNOFF: Yes, well, I mean, it's certainly not shocking to hear that a conference like this is being put off. I mean, often politicians will delay or they're busy in a meeting. I've been to, frankly, many Spitzer news conferences that did not start on time.

Often, that's just a matter of him getting his aides together, getting everyone to be in front of a mic. Clearly, that's not the case this time around. But the governor does have offices here in New York City, in addition to Albany. And we would -- we would expect to hear something certainly, since "The New York Times" is reporting that they are going to make an announcement.

And obviously, the governor is coming forth because he'd rather give the news than have someone else give the news. So, that's -- he's trying to be preemptive here, but that doesn't diminish the magnitude of this scandal and release. NGUYEN: No. And everyone that we have spoken with today, and as soon as we read the news, it was just a sense of shock. Of anyone, Eliot Spitzer, you know, who has pledged to bring ethics reform to politics there in Albany, to see him today -- headline in "The New York Times," "Spitzer is Linked to Prostitution Ring" -- it's going to be interesting to see how all of it plays out, Allan.

We do appreciate your time. Obviously, you're going to continue to follow this, as will we.

We have to take a short break right now, but we'll continue with this story here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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NGUYEN: Breaking news today, we've learned that New York governor, Eliot Spitzer, according to "The New York Times," is linked to a prostitution ring. We don't know any more details regarding this. But obviously we are continuing to follow our sources and get the latest on this, and we are waiting for the governor to take to the microphones and hold a news conference in light of the news that has broken today. And, again, we don't want to pass judgment until, indeed, we find out from the governor himself what that involvement entails.

In the meantime, though, let's speak with Brooke Masters. She's author of "Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer." She's also -- used to be a crime reporter for "Washington Post" and she joins us on the phone.

Brooke, as you hear this news, just as we have, what are your thoughts?

VOICE OF BROOKE MASTERS, AUTHOR: Sad. I mean, the guy came in to clean up Albany, and obviously, this is going to do tough things for his ability to accomplish much of anything.

NGUYEN: You have followed him, you have covered him. This is a man who knows how to fight the tough fight, but is also a man that is known for his ethics. When you see a story like this, I mean, was there anything in your reporting, anything in the time that you spent covering him, that may have led you to believe that something like this could have ever happened?

MASTERS: I'm really surprised that it's about personal ethics. Spitzer got a lot of criticism for a kind of a holier than thou attitude from his opponents on Wall Street, he would say they had conflicts of interest while ignoring what they saw as his own conflicts of interest.

He certainly got a bit of criticism for perhaps having a bit of a double standard. He would use his power as attorney general to hold -- what the business people saw as holding them hostage to get large fines.

They thought he was a little bit too virtuous. I have to say I found very little evidence of personal issue. He and his wife appeared to have a very happy marriage, and truly be very involved.

NGUYEN: Yes. Married with three children as we've heard from the other people we've interviewed today. Often in public with his wife. No doubt this is a man who has waged tough battles on the political scene, and many of those do not consider him their friend in New York City politics obviously are going to be jumping on this.

MASTERS: Oh, absolutely. I can't tell you how the lines are buzzing already. I'm in London now, and my phone and my e-mail are off the hook from people all over Wall Street and in law enforcement and everywhere saying, oh, my goodness, can you believe this?

NGUYEN: Well, you covered white-collar crimes for the Washington Post, and I don't want to get too much into the details since we don't really know it yet, but all we understand from the New York times is that he has spoken with senior administration officials that he had been involved with a prostitution ring.

Involved with a prostitution ring, not with a particular prostitute or anything like that. So, maybe the devil's in the details here?

MASTERS: The devil could be in the details. There was a very high-profile prostitution ring arrest last week. I don't know if you all have figured that out yet.

NGUYEN: We've been told a little bit about that. Do you have any more regarding that prostitution ring?

MASTERS: The U.S. attorneys office put out a press release on it, and what they said at the time they had four unidentified clients who were apparently doing business, or at least interacting with a prostitution ring. And they did not identify the clients. It remains to be seen whether the two are actually connected.

But, certainly that unit of the U.S. attorneys office, who did that case is the unit that does public corruption and looks at government officials, so it certainly would (INAUDIBLE) to case involved.

NGUYEN: Regardless though, I mean just to be linked to a prosecution ring -- prostitution ring, I should say, this is something that could obviously take down his career. Is this something that he could survive politically?

MASTERS: Hard to know. He's been having a rough time as governor already. Between the allegations last summer that his -- his aides misused the state police to basically follow and keep dossiers on his rivals. He had a hard time with the budget. He's had a really tough time as governor already. It's not as show it's hitting him at a moment of strength.

I mean, I never write people off. There were lots of people who wrote Bill Clinton off in 1992 and they were wrong, so you can't write someone off. But this is not a good time. NGUYEN: That goes without saying. Brooke Masters, author of "Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Elliot Spitzer." We do appreciate your insight today, especially joining us from across the pond as they say. Thank you very much.

MASTERS: Thank you.

NGUYEN: And, of course, we will continue to follow this story as the news develops regarding Eliot Spitzer being linked to a prostitution ring. Stay with the CNN NEWSROOM we'll have more.

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LEMON: Well, just when all eyes had been on the horse race in the presidential election, this comes. Word from "The New York Times" that governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, is possibly linked to a prostitution ring. Apparently the governor informed his senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring.

And "The New York Times" says that is according to an administration official that they spoke to earlier this morning. Here's what's interesting about all of this. Eliot Spitzer was supposed to clean up all the corruption when it came to Albany and in government in New York. As a matter of fact, as attorney general had worked on prosecuting these sorts of cases and also prosecuting cases when it came to organized crime as well.

Our Allan Chernoff is working this story for us from New York, he's going to join us on the other side of the break. CNN NEWSROOM has all the information you need regarding the Governor Eliot Spitzer and his possible link to a prosecution ring.

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