The Paterson Disaster
You're on an auxiliary page. Click Constant Comments-Home on the bar above to go to the main page.
Plea Deal. New York Times, March 3, 2011: "Appearing in Bronx Criminal Court, the aide [to former New York Gov. David Paterson], David W. Johnson, acknowledged shoving the former girlfriend, Sherr-una Booker, on Oct. 31, 2009, during an argument at her apartment. The plea to harassment, a violation, does not require Mr. Johnson to serve any time in jail.
New York Times: August 26: "Gov. David A. Paterson misled investigators for the state ethics commission when he testified that he had intended to pay for free tickets he obtained to last year’s World Series, according to a report issued on Thursday by an independent counsel investigating the matter." Here's a Scribd. file of the report.
New York Times, August 12: "David W. Johnson, one of Gov. David A. Paterson’s closest aides, surrendered to Bronx prosecutors Thursday morning to face misdemeanor assault charges...."
New York Times Editorial Board: "Gov. David Paterson’s team has said many absurd things about his office’s attempt to interfere with assault charges against one of Mr. Paterson’s closest aides, but perhaps the most absurd of all was the claim that he was 'exonerated' by the report issued by the former chief judge of New York." Why Judge Kaye chose not to recommend criminal charges against Paterson or others "is a bit baffling in light of the portrait she painted of government officials abusing the public trust, exhibiting appalling judgment and apparently perjuring themselves during the investigation."
New York Times, July 29: "In her report ... clearing [New York] Gov. of witness tampering, the independent counsel ... raised what amounted to a new accusation: that the governor ... allow[ed] evidence in the case to be shared with witnesses.... The leaks ... could have allowed witnesses who are subjects of the investigation to coordinate their defense and perhaps align their testimony."
New York Times, July 28: Judith Kaye, "the retired judge investigating Gov. David A. Paterson’s intervention in a domestic violence case involving a former top aide, will not recommend any charges against the governor... Instead..., the former chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, found that Mr. Paterson had made substantial errors of judgment in repeatedly contacting the victim in the case during and after the fight with his aide, but that his actions did not rise to the level of witness tampering or any related criminal offense."
New York Times, March 26: "Gov. personally helped draft a statement last month that he hoped would be endorsed by a woman involved in a domestic dispute with one of his top aides, proposing language asserting that there had been no violence in the encounter."
Danny Hakim & William Rashbaum of the New York Times, March 19: what did the governor know & when did he know it? Special investigator Judge Judith Kaye is pursuing the sequence & content of phone conversations -- there were a lot of them.
New York Times, March 17: "Marissa Shorenstein, Gov. David A. Paterson’s press secretary and acting chief spokeswoman, resigned on Wednesday. She becomes the fifth top state official to resign in the wake of a scandal over the Paterson administration’s handling of a domestic violence incident."
New York Times, March 17: David Johnson, the aide to New York Gov. whose domestic abuse case threatened to bring down the governor, "failed to respond to a subpoena from a state ethics commission requiring him to testify about his role in obtaining World Series tickets last year from the Yankees for Mr. Paterson and others who attended a game with the governor." His excuse: he didn't open his mail.
New York Times, March 11: New York AG Andrew Cuomo said he would appoint Judith Kaye, the former Chief Judge of New York as independent counsel to take over his office’s investigation into matters involving Gov. David Paterson; Cuomo is expected to announce he will run for governor.
"Teflon Dave." New York Daily News, March 11: "Investigators have found little direct evidence that Gov. [David] Paterson tampered with a witness in a domestic abuse case against one of his top aides.... Sherr-una Booker told probers she didn't feel the governor threatened her in a phone conversation a day before a Feb. 8 hearing in the case." The Daily News posts this picture of Booker:
Sherr-una Booker. Photo by JnDWrX.
CW: Bearing in mind this is New York Post reporting, Annie Karni's story (March 8) of how Eliot Spitzer chose David Paterson as his running mate is entertaining. And some of it could be true.
New York Times, March 5: Gov. David Paterson has hired Theodore Wells, Jr., a lawyer who "was on the defense team that persuaded federal prosecutors not to charge Gov. Eliot Spitzer when he was under investigation in 2008 for patronizing a prostitution ring." ...
Danny Hakim & Jim Dwyer of the New York Times (March 5) with a wrapup of the latest developments in the Paterson situation.
... AP: Paterson "might have won some time when he received what has become rare support from influential black leaders...."
New York Times, March 4: New York Gov. Paterson's communications director Peter Kauffmann resigned, saying he couldn't "in good conscience" continue working for the governor.
New York Times, March 3: The state Commission on Public Integrity today charged Gov. David Paterson "with violating state ethics laws when he secured free tickets to the opening game of the World Series from the Yankees last fall.... In addition..., the commission found that Mr. Paterson falsely testified under oath.... The commission had referred the case to the Albany County District Attorney, P. David Soares, as well as Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, for further investigation."
New York Times, March 2: according to a source, Deneane Brown, a state worker who was friends with both New York Gov. David Paterson & the woman who accused Paterson's aide of assaulting her, has told investigators that several weeks ago Gov. Paterson told Brown "to convey a message to the accuser: 'Tell her the governor wants her to make this go away.'” (Story has been updated.)
AP, March 2: "New York State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt is abruptly retiring effective Wednesday amid a domestic violence scandal threatening Gov. David Paterson." CW: the Times Editorial Board called on Paterson to fire Corbitt.
New York Times Editorial Board, March 2: Gov. Paterson should explain his actions or resign.
AP, March 2: the National Organization for Women (NOW) "is urging New York Gov. David Paterson to resign because of a report he directed two staffers to contact a woman about a domestic violence case involving one of his top aides."
Danny Hakim & William Rashbaum of the New York Times, Mar 2: "Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor’s actions."
Nicholas Confessore & Serge Kovaleski of the New York Times: the police units assigned to New York governors have behaved badly, often crossing the line between duty to the public & loyalty to the governor.
One thing you have to say for Gov. Paterson, he really did appoint a damned fine Lieutenant Governor. David Halbfinger of the New York Times profiles Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch.
The Governor appears on SNL's "Weekend Update":
Just as Funny: Blago advises Paterson not to quit:
Jeremy Peters & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "with New York grappling with enormous problems, some of the key Democrats he will need to work with were debating a central question on Saturday: Can such a damaged and distracted leader really run the state?"
New York Post: "Investigators for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's Office spent four hours Friday questioning Sherr-una Booker as it kicked off its probe into whether State Police -- and possibly Gov. Paterson himself -- intervened to quash her domestic-violence case against an administration official."
New York Gov. David Paterson announces in a brief press conference that he won't seek election to the post:
... New York Times story here. Here's the audio & transcript of the woman's testimony seeking an order of protection against Paterson aide David Johnson.
AP: "New York Gov. David Paterson is not seeking election, Democratic officials told The Associated Press on Friday. Democratic officials in Washington were informed of Paterson's plans early Friday...." ...
... New York Times Update: "David W. Johnson, a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, reached out to the commander of the governor’s State Police detail the day after an altercation with his girlfriend and asked the commander to call the woman."
Daily News, Feb. 27: investigators from AG Andrew Cuomo's office grilled Maj. Charles Day, the head of Gov. Paterson's security detail, yesterday.
New York Times: "Even David A. Paterson’s allies are saying he can not simultaneously govern, manage fallout from the latest scandal and lead the Democratic ticket this fall."
The Plot Thickens. The New York Times reports that a woman went to court last fall to accuse Gov. David Paterson's top aide David Johnson of violently assaulting her, then said State Police had "harassed" her to drop the suit. "The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor’s personal security detail." The governor reportedly called the woman earlier this month; she failed to appear for her next hearing, "& as a result her case was dismissed." The Governor has suspented Johnson without pay & has asked AG Andrew Cuomo to investigate the handling of the case....
... Ben Smith of Politico sums up what is almost certainly the outcome of the Times report: it "appears likely to end the governor's tottering political career."
Joanna Molloy of the Daily News: Gov. Paterson's silence on aide David Johnson's alleged abuse of his girlfriend is deafening.
Daily News: "A subdued Gov. Paterson ducked questions Thursday morning about his possible role in an exploding controversy over a domestic abuse case involving one of his top aides
New York Times: Denise O'Donnell, the cabinet official who supervises the State Police has resigned in protest of reports the State Police intervened on behalf of a senior aide to Gov. David Paterson who was accused of domestic assault. NEW: "While no prominent Democrats have yet called on Mr. Paterson to resign, sentiment appears to be growing rapidly for him to suspend his campaign...." ...
... Meanwhile, the attorney for the alleged victims contradicts Gov. Paterson's version of the story....
... So now Paterson says he'll consult with party leaders about his political future....
... Paterson's mess puts AG Andrew Cuomo -- who will likely run against Paterson at the same time he is investigating his conduct -- in a difficult ethical quandary.
Daily News: New York Gov. David Paterson announces he will run for election to a four-year term. "Anemic fund-raising, no-show Democratic officials and lousy poll numbers be damned: A defiant Gov. Paterson says he's in it to win it."
For weeks there were rumors, printed in other New York rags, that this February 16 New York Times story by Danny Hakin & William Rashbaum would reveal a blockbuster scandal. It didn't. But it did introduce the world to Paterson aide David Johnson. who would be at the center of the scandal the Times had yet to report.
Gov. Paterson holds a news conference to counter the rumors:
Clart Hoyt, the New York Times public editor, describes the rumor mill run-up to publication of the first Times story.
****************************************************
