Ethically-Challenged Spitzer to Give Lecture at Harvard’s Ethic Center

Fox News reports that “former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer will give a lecture Thursday afternoon at Harvard University’s ethics center, raising a few questions over what the disgraced, prostitute-visiting ex-official might have to say on the topic.

University officials say the address will stick to fiscal issues. Spitzer is speaking on the topic of conditions that lead to government intervention in the private economy and is not expected to deliver any kind of seminar on morality.

“The lecture series addresses the influences within various institutions that arguably weaken the effectiveness of an institution or the public trust of the institution,” Lawrence Lessig, director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics which invited Spitzer, said in a written statement. “He joins others in this series who each have different views about the subject.”

But the engagement drew an objection from the former madam whose escort service reportedly provided Spitzer with high-end hookers.

According to The New York Post, Kristin Davis, who reportedly supplied Spitzer repeatedly with an escort, wrote a protest letter to the Center for Ethics calling Spitzer a “man without ethics.”

“I am greatly intrigued as to what Mr. Spitzer could contribute to an ethical discussion when as Chief Executive Law Enforcement Officer of NY he broke numerous laws for which he has yet to be punished,” she wrote, according to the newspaper. “As Attorney General he went around arresting and making examples out of the same escort agencies he was frequenting.”

Though Spitzer’s talk is limited to the topic of government intervention, there will be a question-and-answer period, so there’s no guarantee the topic of ethics won’t come up.

“The topic is on the fiscal sector, but it’s an open Q-and-A,” Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said. There is considerable interest in the talk, as all of the university’s free tickets to the event have been snatched up.

The title of the lecture is: “From Ayn Rand to Ken Feinberg — How Quickly the Paradigm Shifts. What Should Be the Rationale for Government Participation in the Market?” The lecture is not a requirement for students, Wrinn said.

Since resigning in the wake of the prostitution scandal in early 2008, Spitzer has worked as an adjunct professor at City College of New York and at his father’s real estate firm.

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Spitzer to Give Lecture at Harvard Ethics Center