Those 10 words in the headline above are the worst nightmare possible for a politician like New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer who has always positioned himself as the incorruptible, indefatigable opponent of corporate thieves, scams and cover-ups.

Now, at least in the eyes of many New Yorkers, Spitzer faces accusations of his own cover-up of actions by two and possibly more of his most trusted aides in using state police to falsely accuse New York Senate GOP Joseph Bruno of misusing official transportation resources.

The scandal was ignited early in July when the New York Post reported that Spitzer aides had set up secret surveillance program using State Police to collect evidence for discrediting Bruno.

After Spitzer denied the Post report, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a scathing report that described how Spitzer aides had indeed sought to use State Police resources against Bruno. The report named Spitzer's longtime communications director Darren Dopp and chief of staff Richard Baum.

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Spitzer's widely discounted claim not to have known of his aides' actions and his attempts to make the scandal go away by apologizing and appealing for a new start, as well as legislators demanding investigations and numerous editorials questioning his version of events, are all eerily reminiscent for some of the tempestuous events that ultimately led to Watergate and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

A Sienna Institute Poll last week found that more than half of the 600 New Yorkers interviewed believe Spitzer knew of his aides' activities, despite the governor's repeated declaration: "Let me make it very clear. I did not, would not, tolerate that activity. Sure, we have a close-knit office, but trust me, the one thing I do not track or worry about is what stories are being created, generated, what requests have or have not come in."

Also contributing to skepticism about Spitzer's account are some of the tactics he and his inner circle have used in responding to the Cuomo report and subsequent investigation. Most controversial of those tactics was designating as special counsels two aides to "debrief" Baum and Dopp.

The special counsel designation meant the attorney-client privilege applied to their conversation and thus prevented Cuomo investigators from questioning Baum and Dopp about details of their debriefing conversation.