Hall by himself

As frontman for the 1970’s pop band Orleans, U.S. Representative John Hall, D-NY, penned the group’s chart climbing hit “Still the One.” And as a member of Congress, Hall is still the one keeping campaign money he received from disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, even as the rest of his Democrat colleagues last week jettisoned Spitzer’s donations.

As revelations became public that Spitzer patronized a high-priced prostitute while on official state business in Washington, DC, Hall and other New York Democrats were quizzed on whether they would return Spitzer’s campaign donations. All but Hall have answered.

U.S. Representative Michael Arcuri, a former Oneida prosecutor, announced that he would donate to charity $6,000 he received from Spitzer in 2006 and 2007. Arcuri last year donated another $2,100 to charity following a majorityap.com report that he received that money from a New York attorney facing a 20-count federal indictment for criminal charges including obstructing justice, perjury, bribery and fraud. The attorney, David Bershad, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Democrats Dan Maffei, seeking the open seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Walsh, and Eric Massa, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Randy Kuhl, R-NY, also said they would donate Spitzer’s contributions to charity.

Massa had especially harsh words for Spitzer, who resigned from office effective yesterday, saying at a news conference he was “disgusted” and that he had “directed (his) staff to sever all ties with anything having to do with Eliot Spitzer.” Severing those ties included donating the $2,000 he received from Spitzer to a Steuben County women’s shelter. Maffei gave away $3,000, the same amount he received from the disgraced Governor in 2006 and 2007.

U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, at first “would not respond” to calls she return $6,000 in donations received from Spitzer. But after a majorityap.com report that Gillibrand once demanded that her opponent return contributions from a strip club owner because she found his profession morally offensive, Gillibrand capitulated, telling the Glens Falls Post Star she was donating $2,000 to charity. Gillibrand offered no public explanation on why she was keeping the remaining $4,000.

Other Democrats shed donations Spitzer made to them years earlier. U.S. Representative Tim Bishop donated $2,000 he received from Spitzer in 2004, while U.S. Senator Mark Pryor, D-AK, went back even further – giving away $1,000 he received in 2002.

Hall featured Spitzer’s endorsement and several photos prominently on his campaign website during the 2006 campaign. It is unclear when Hall removed Spitzer’s photographs from his website – which at one point included an image of Hall and Spitzer on the site’s masthead - but they were available through at least 2007.

When Hall first ran for Congress, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) called on his opponent, then-U.S. Rep. Sue Kelly, to return campaign contributions she received from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In fact, the DCCC had a dedicated website criticizing Republican lawmakers and candidates who received donations from DeLay. The website was deleted last week, after a majorityap.com blog entry linked to the site.

On Friday, Spitzer resigned in disgrace, and officially left office Monday. He is said to have “had at least seven or eight liaisons over the last several years with prostitutes,” costing as much as $80,000.

Recently unsealed FBI records include a transcript of conversations with Spitzer, referred to as client number nine, and the prostitute he hired, among others. Spitzer would “ask to do things that…you might not think were safe,” according to the prostitute who reportedly met the Democrat Governor last month at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC.

Despite his resignation, Spitzer could still face criminal charges, ranging from money laundering to violations of the Mann Act, a federal law prohibiting the crossing of state lines to engage in prostitution. Spitzer reportedly ferried his $4,300 call girl from New York City to DC, where he was on official state business.