Chamber Chief Attacks Spitzer

The head of the nation’s largest business association issued a blistering broadside against New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday, charging he is abusing his power as a law enforcement official.

The attack on Spitzer came when U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue was asked at a news conference how the business group planned to challenge what it calls “excesses” among some white-collar investigations in recent years.

“He’s the investigator, the prosecutor, the judge, the jury and the executioner,” said Donohue.

The criticism comes about a month after Spitzer, a Democrat, announced he will run for governor of New York in 2006.

Spitzer gained national attention in recent years with investigations of brokerage firm Merrill Lynch & Co., insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. and former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso.

Donohue charged Spitzer’s methods went beyond the bounds of admirable law enforcement work.

“Spitzer’s approach is to walk in and say, ‘Well, we’re going to make a deal, and you’re going to pay $600 million to the state and you’re going to get rid of this person and that person and if you don’t do it by tonight then I’m going to indict the company.’ What does indict the company mean? It means they’re going to put you out of business,” Donohue said.

“It’s the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation that we have seen in this country in modern time,” he said.

The group, which represents about 3 million businesses, said it would oppose regulators who have misused white-collar laws to criminalize honest mistakes.

“The chamber should be a proponent of high standards,” responded Spitzer’s spokesman, Darren Dopp. “Instead, Mr. Donohue is attacking the one person who has done the most to level the playing field for honest business. His comments are misinformed and unfortunate.”

Spitzer’s aggressive hunt for alleged wrongdoers on Wall Street earned him praise and publicity, but critics contend he exceeded his authority by taking on cases more properly handled by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

At the time, Spitzer argued the SEC was ineffectual and missing important cases, though he recently said the agency was doing better, thanks in part to his initiative in probing investment banks, mutual funds and insurance companies.