When federal law enforcement officials were not using the act to harass African-American celebrities, they were using it to intimidate other controversial public figures. Charlie Chaplin is best known as the lovable silent film star, but he also caused a public stir by releasing the decidedly pro-war, anti-Hitler film The Great Dictator in a nation (and a government) still committed to neutrality. Chaplin's warmongering angered many within the government and probably led to his prosecution on trumped-up Mann Act charges in 1944. Further, in 1918, a prominent and controversial University of Chicago professor Willliam I. Thomas was dismissed from his lecturing post and charged with Mann Act violations-probably because of the anti-war activities of his wife, his unorthodox views and his bohemian lifestyle.
Spitzer fits the model of a typical Mann Act witch-hunt: a popular, famous and controversial public figure being persecuted by unhappy higher-ups within the federal government. Spitzer's moral judgment was undoubtedly poor. However, it seems that politics were at the centre of his downfall. Republicans in New York were facing an increasingly uphill battle against Democrats. The Bush administration's Justice Department Public Integrity section, which is responsible for investigating the conduct of elected public officials, had not even been scrutinizing Spitzer because of any suspected crime-they were just snooping into his banking history when they struck political gold. This same Public Integrity section was at the centre of the U.S. attorneys' scandal and, according to Tribe Magazine, has investigated 5.6 Democratic public officials for every one Republican.
Whatever really happened in the Spitzer affair, one thing is clear. Leaving archaic, racist legislative relics on the books for overeager federal officials to enforce at their whim is a
recipe for disaster and a travesty in a society that champions impartial justice.
2008 Woodie Awards
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Thomas Bowles
posted 3/19/08 @ 9:25 AM EST
Ancient? A hundred years or so is not "ancient." The law exists to enforce morality. That's why law exists. The trouble now is that a number of people such as yourself no longer share the same general idea of morality and dare call it "archaic". (Continued…)
Duong Pham
posted 3/19/08 @ 2:41 PM EST
I think a lot of people are missing the point about Spitzer. This guy made his name by prosecuting cases involving securities fraud AND prostitution. The fact that he got caught in a buying sex from a high end prostitution ring makes him a hypocrite. (Continued…)
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