NY legislators OK subpoena for top cop

The Republican-led Senate investigations committee voted Monday to subpoena the head of the state police in a scandal in which top aides to Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer have been accused of plotting to embarrass Senate leader Joseph Bruno.

The first action to compel testimony under oath in the months-old dispute came as Democrats lashed out at the Senate's Republican majority for continuing to investigate the alleged plot.

Two Spitzer aides have been accused of using state police to compile and publicly release travel records to embarrass Bruno, although the Albany County district attorney last week said no crimes were committed and he saw no evidence of a plot or aides exceeding their authority.

The Senate investigations committee approved the issuing of a subpoena to state police Acting Superintendent Preston Felton. Felton had declined the committee's request to answer questions, but the committee said it will ask Felton again to appear voluntarily before it issues a subpoena.

State police said they would have no comment.

Committee members also said subpoenas could be issued later to top Spitzer administration aides.

"The bottom line is that the people in this state have a right to know the truth," Bruno said in a news conference. "We're going to put whatever people in place it takes, that's necessary to help make sure we have full disclosure and it's done properly and it's done right, on behalf of the people in this state."

Spitzer's spokeswoman dismissed the Senate's pursuit of the scandal as politically motivated. Spitzer, his aides and Felton have cooperated with the district attorney's investigation and with the continuing investigation by the state Public Integrity Commission, the majority of which is appointed by Spitzer.

"It is wrong for the Senate Republicans to draw career law enforcement professionals into their partisan hearings," said Christine Anderson, Spitzer's spokeswoman. "It is equally wrong to run roughshod over the Public Integrity inquiry, with which these same witnesses are cooperating."

Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith called on Republicans to "end this farce."

"The people of this state are saying, `Stop with this nonsense,'" Smith said at a press conference before the investigations committee met.

Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares' report released Friday was the second investigation of the scandal in which Bruno accused the Spitzer administration of using state police in a plot to discredit him. Bruno had legally used state aircraft and a state police driver on days he mixed meeting with lobbyists with Republican fundraisers. That mixed use has since been restricted.

The first report was by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who like Soares is a Democrat.

In July, Cuomo found no crime was committed but faulted two top Spitzer aides for misconduct. Soares, however, found that all officials _ including Spitzer _ acted within their authority and didn't try to smear Bruno by releasing the travel records to a reporter who requested them.

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Associated Press writer Jessica Pasko contributed to this report.