UPDATE: 2nd Circ. Sides with Spitzer & Slate in Insurance Broker Libel Claim

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Elliot Spitzer, former N.Y. Governor, Attorney General and ersatz CNN talk show host, may not have fared well in his recent attempt to re-enter the public sector as New York City Comptroller, but at least he won't be on the short-end of a defamation suit brought by a former Marsh & McClennan executive thanks to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

A five-page Summary Order decision by a three-judge appellate panel consisting of Justices Denny Chin, John M. Walker and Debra Ann Livingston upheld a ruling by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that Spitzer and E-zine Slate did not defame William Gilman, former executive marketing director for Marsh & McClennan, in an Aug. 22, 2010 Slate column (see "TUOL" post 8/23/11).

In 2005, Marsh paid $850 million to settle a civil suit brought by the State of New York eight months before Gilman and seven other Marsh execs were indicted on kickback charges and other misdeeds. An editorial in The Wall St. Journal blasted Spitzer for his prosecution, to which he responded with the allegedly defamatory Slate column entitled They Still Don't Get It in which he defended his pursuit of corporate malfeasance by Marsh and the American Insurance Group, Inc.

Gilman's 2008 felony antitrust violation conviction was overturned and subsequently the case against him was dismissed. He then filed a $60 million libel claim against the defendants over statements in the Slate column, including that the critical WSJ editorial "fail[ed] to note the many employees of Marsh who have been convicted and sentenced to jail terms" and "Marsh and its employees pocketed the increased fees and kickbacks."

The trial court ruled against Gilman on his defamation suit and in Gilman v. Spitzer et al. (Case No. 12-cv-4169), the appellate panel agreed that the allegedly offensive statements were too broad and did not harm Gilman's reputation. The Second Circuit noted that by virtue of charges against him being dismissed, Gilman was not harmed by the Slate column reference to Marsh top brass "convicted and sentenced to jail terms" because he was excluded from that group, and that general references to "Marsh and its employees" could not be construed to be about Gilman personally.

For individuals to prevail in so-called group libel claims, the group has to be small enough that the false statement at issue harms the reputation of each of the group's members (hence, one can't defame the U.S. Army), and the allegedly defamatory statement must particularly target the plaintiff. In this instance, Gilman was not identified by name in Spitzer's Slate piece.

CNN Spitz the Bit; Aims to Re-Coop Ratings

Image via WikipediaPaltry ratings have led CNN to kick former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer to the curb, Politico reports.

Spitzer had rebounded somewhat from the disastrous ratings of Parker/Spitzer, which debuted in September 2010 (see "TUOL" posts 1/10/11, 9/8/10, 6/24/10), with his solo turn on In the Arena, but in the end, there weren't enough 25 to 54 year olds--advertisers' favorite demographic--sitting in the arena either. Spitzer's 8 p.m. slot will be filled beginning in August by Anderson Cooper's Anderson Cooper 360, which also will air at 10 p.m.

Former CNBC star Erin Burnett joins CNN's Prime-Time lineup in September with a gabfest that will air at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Piers Morgan, The Situation Room and John King USA will continue to be part of CNN's viewer-averse evening programming.  Not a Snookie or Real Housewife in the bunch.

Papers Report Client No. 9 86's Parker from CNN Gabfest

Image by John*Ell via FlickrCNN, disappointed with the ratings for the four-month-old train wreck, er, talk show, "Parker/Spitzer", plans to show Pulitzer-Prize winning conservative columnist Kathleen Parker the door, according to reports in today's New York Post and Wall St. Journal.

Although elated by the aggressiveness and political acumen of former NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer, CNN ("C'mon; Nobody's Newsier") has been badly trailing in the ratings to  Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and quite possibly, test patterns for the Emergency Broadcasting System. (See "TUOL": posts 9/810 & 6/24/10.) There have reports of backstage tussles between the co-hosts, but CNN won't confirm that Parker is on her way out.

Press reports speculate that former Fox and Friends host E.D. Hill, who has previously filled-in for Parker, is the front-runner to replace her.  Hill is best-known for once characterizing a post-primary celebratory fist bump between the Obamas as a "terrorist fist jab," for anyone who might otherwise confuse Hill with Bill Moyers or Ted Koppel.  Other possible candidates to succeed Parker include National Review scribe Will Cain, but as has been amply illustrated in his professional and private life, Spitzer prefers female company.

CNN's Dazzling New Program Title for Spitzer & Parker Gabfest

Image via WikipediaCNN this week unveiled the name of the new Prime Time talk show featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker and former Democratic NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer debuting this fall  at 8 p.m. opposite Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

CNN ("Creativity Not Necessary") reached back to come up with the title--drum roll, please--Parker Spitzer.
 Yeah, that's right.

Those of you who guessed: Parker Here, Client No. 9, nice try.

UPDATE: CNN Announces Spitzer & Parker to Host 'Not-Crossfire' Talk Show

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

As "TUOL" noted in a 6/15/10 post, former NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer this fall will helm CNN's Prime Time 8 p.m. talk show, replacing Cameron Brown, and banging heads with entrenched cable tv gabbers Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

Joining Spitzer as co-host of the as-yet unnamed talk show (just don't call it "Crossfire--The Sequel") is syndicated Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, a Pulitzer Prize winner and self-proclaimed "rational Conservative" whose twice-weekly commentary appears in more than 400 newspapers nationwide. Spitzer, the "Sheriff of Wall St.," and one-time formidable liberal Governor of New York until forced to resign in disgrace two years ago over his unveiling as "Client No. 9" in the Emperors Club prostitution sting (see "TUOL" post 8/11/09), has been making the cable talk show rounds, appearing as a guest commentator on Bill Maher's program, among others.

Parker said that unlike artificial roundtable discussion programs, her & Spitzer's effort will focus on what  people discuss at their kitchen table.  This should pose a challenge for Spitzer, who has thus far been recogized for his bedroom chat skills.

What Happens at Emperor's Club Stays at Emperor's Club

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Readers clamoring for the further sexual adventures of "Client 9" are in for a disappointment.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a trial judge and decided that The New York Times has no 1st Amendment right of access to sealed wiretap applications concerning the government investigation of the Emperor's Club, a prostitution ring patronized by former NY Governor Elliot Spitzer.

In In re: Application of The New York Times Company to Unseal Wiretap & Warrant Materials(Docket Nos. 09-0854cv, 09-1164), the appellate court concluded that the Times has not shown “good cause” to unseal wiretap applications, orders, and related documents pursuant to Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.

The court noted that wiretap applications have not traditionally been open to the press or general public. In rejecting the lower court's finding that the documents sought by the Times were "judicial records" germane to the court's handling of the cases and of interest to the public, the appellate court said Congress' intent to preserve confidentiality and the privacy interests of those subject to the wiretaps trump any 1st Amendment interests.

Gov. Spitzer resigned within days of the March 2008, arrest of 4 persons charged with running the Emperor's Club prostitution ring and the disclosure that he was "Client 9" referred to in the investigatory materials.