ALBANY – Albany County District Attorney David Soares yesterday cleared the Spitzer administration of any wrongdoing in the dirty-tricks scandal.
“This office has found no illegal conduct,” Soares said in a statement announcing the conclusion of the seven-week investigation.
“To the contrary, we found that the governor, his staff and the New York State Police were acting within their authority in compiling and releasing documents to the media concerning the use of state aircraft,” Soares added.
Soares – who closed the investigation after probers interviewed Gov. Spitzer Wednesday – said he will release a detailed report today.
“The governor is gratified by the conclusions reached by [Soares] and looks forward to reading the report,” said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.
Republicans and other critics of the scandal yesterday questioned how Soares could find no criminal wrongdoing when his investigators did not subpoena records or place anyone interviewed – including the governor – under oath.
They say one reason they wanted Soares, who like Spitzer is a Democrat with strong support from the minor Working Families Party, to conduct the probe is because he had subpoena power that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo lacked in his investigation.
While Cuomo also found no criminality, he concluded that top Spitzer aides acted improperly in using the State Police to compile damaging information for the press on the use of the state air fleet by Spitzer’s top political foe, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
“I’m not totally surprised [Soares] didn’t bring criminal charges, but to thoroughly whitewash this is over the top,” said state Sen. George Winner, who chairs the Senate Investigation Committee conducting its own probe into the matter.
In his statement, Soares said the Governor’s Office and the State Police “have cooperated fully with our review, including a voluntary appearance by the governor.
“In addition, they provided all the documents and testimony we requested and needed to complete our review.”
Hours before Soares’ announcement, Spitzer confirmed that he met with investigators Wednesday, even though spokesman Jeffrey Gordon told The Post that day that the governor had neither testified nor been asked to.
“I met with them, answered all their questions, was thrilled to do so, volunteered to do so,” Spitzer said. “The record is going to be one that vindicates precisely what I have said throughout this matter.”
Spitzer has repeatedly said that while he knew his top aides were working on compiling information on Bruno’s use of the state aircraft for a news story, he did not know they had hatched the plan or misused the State Police.
He previously had suspended his communications director, Darren Dopp, without pay for just over a month and demoted another aide, William Howard.
While Spitzer certainly will be buoyed by Soares’ finding, his administration still faces two ongoing investigations, including one by the state Ethics Commission.
That investigation will continue even though the commission is set to expire tomorrow and be replaced by a new public-integrity body that will be controlled by Spitzer, said John Feerick, who is heading the probe.