Spitzer given deadline to step down in sex scandal

PRESSURE mounted yesterday on New York governor Eliot Spitzer to resign because of a prostitution scandal, with a senior state Republican threatening to push for impeachment proceedings if the governor doesn’t step down in 48 hours.

State residents “cannot have this hanging over their heads”, said New York assembly minority leader James Tedisco

The scandal erupted on Monday when allegations surfaced that Spitzer, who built his political reputation on rooting out corruption, spent thousands of dollars for a night with a call girl named Kristen at a glitzy Washington hotel. Spitzer, a first-term Democratic governor remained hidden from public view yesterday while three New York newspapers called for his resignation.