Paterson Witness Tampering Charges Unlikely: Report

While Ticketgate is causing Governor Paterson some headaches, it looks like he may be able to put another scandal to rest.

The New York Daily News reports that investigators are coming up empty in terms of evidence that the governor is guilty of witness tampering.

Paterson is accused of phoning the victim in a domestic abuse case involving one of his top aides David Johnson and asking her to lay off.

But Sherr-una Booker, the victim and woman at center of the probe, has reportedly denied feeling threatened by Paterson during their phone conversation the day before she was due in court.

According to the News:

Sources also say conversations that several of the governor's aides had with Booker before the court date were too vague to nail down a witness tampering case. "It's a very difficult witness tampering case to make against Paterson," one source said. "But the investigation is not over."

In an interesting twist, Paterson's blindness, a much-mocked disability, may actually have benefited him in this case. Because he cannot use email, there is no paper trail of his communication and investigators must rely solely on eyewitnesses.

Perhaps Paterson was channeling his former boss Eliot Spitzer who once said, "Never put anything in an email."

Comments

[jeffbk]

03:44 AM on 03/12/2010

Stumbled upon this prank call to Paterson...funny..
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cdc07e0af8/mario-calls-ny-governor-david-patersons-office

[cleanupnynow]

11:19 PM on 03/11/2010

Whether or not witness tampering is found, David Paterson needs to RESIGN.

David Paterson simply does not have the leadership or managerial ability to govern. More importantly, he is no longer politically viable.

David Paterson proved long ago that he could not govern. “The Democratic Conference: Organizational and Operational Structure Report” is an SCATHING eyewitness account of Paterson’s DYSFUNCTIONAL governing nature as Senate Minority Leader.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM110_demreportfinal.html

Paterson's office was criticized for PATRONAGE, LACK OF LEADERSHIP, INDECISVENESS and INFIGHTING, set against a backdrop of general CHAOS – in other words the office was a ZOO. Those interviewed in the report indicated that its chief of staff Michael Jones-Bey, should get FIRED since he was completely DISORGANIZED, had no management skills, and would get DRUNK with staff, often coming in the office with a HANGOVER.

Amazingly, for running such a DYSFUNCTIONAL CHAOTIC office, Michale Jones-Bey was hand picked by David Paterson to head the Division of Minority & Women Owned Business Development at Empire State Development Corporation.

David Paterson needs to RESIGN and stop using his office as an employment agency for his friends and gal pals.

[HekmagaJuximakLives]

04:10 PM on 03/11/2010

I hope the attempt to make Richard Ravitch, the pick of Madoff Gloomberg, the acting Governor will fail.

[Steamboater]

02:51 PM on 03/11/2010

"Too vague" in regard to evidence is just another way of saying, 'This is something we don't want to touch'. This is what happens political when higher-ups break the law. Spitzer resigns an doesn't spend a day in court or in jail when he prosecuted men for doing the very crime he did and neither will Patterson.

[Witkacy]

02:43 PM on 03/11/2010

Breaking News: The New York TImes owners & editorial staff have all been reported to have died of disappointment. They probably already had their "Paterson Resigns" story all written, and were ready to do their victory laps...Cue trombone with plunger mute: Waah waah waaahh...

[glorialovelace]

04:43 PM on 03/11/2010

"Breaking News: The New York TImes owners & editorial staff have all been reported to have died of disappointment. "

I sincerely hope so.

[hjo4]

01:56 PM on 03/11/2010

I told you all this would be the outcome. Also there is nothing Teflon about this case, the Governor did nothing wrong, so how could anything stick or not. This assassination by media failed and backfired miserably.

[FreedomOnionSoup]

02:21 PM on 03/11/2010

The governor's approval ratings are in the dumps and he's soon to be unemployed. I wouldn't call that a miserable failure.

[hjo4]

02:28 PM on 03/11/2010

He'll finish his term, so the polls numbers mean nothing. The only people who will suffer are us New Yorkers because David Paterson is a good Governor. He proved he is a MAN not anyone's boy and he is to be respected for that.The media showed who they are and it backfired, they only proved what most people knew about them anyway.

[glorialovelace]

02:35 PM on 03/11/2010

Maybe after a few years of Governor Cuomo, people will want Paterson to return.

Don't forget that Cuomo will also have to create a budget that will make everybody happy using the same "no money" that Paterson had at his disposal.

The fact is, this is not a good time to be a governor -- of ANY state.

[higherstrategy]

01:47 PM on 03/11/2010

WHY are politicians suddenly ABOVE THE LAW LIKE ROYALTY?

[glorialovelace]

01:50 PM on 03/11/2010

Why are politicians not entitled to due process like everybody else?

Why are mere unproved "allegations" enough to convict, in the minds of some people, including the press -- which should know better.

[Steamboater]

02:56 PM on 03/11/2010

It's not so sudden.e.g, Nixon and Watergate and not a day facing the law he had so much contempt for and Bush, Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld who lied and deceived everyone to get this country into a two wars resulting in over 5,000 americans dead. All fof this is the plitical maneuver of putting everything behind us and getting on with NOW because the country it's assumed is too weak to handle it, when we've been through a civil war, two world wars, Vietnam and 9/11 and we're still here.

[glorialovelace]

01:29 PM on 03/11/2010

So far, so good.

I hope it has a happy outcome for Paterson, and I also hope that it teaches some people -- including quite a few who work at our esteemed newspaperes -- the perils of rushing to judgement.

Apparently, the journalist's canon of ethics is not enough to contain the excesses of this crowd.

Maybe the answer is to license people who report for newspapers. If you report lies, or if you confuse speculation with fact, you get tossed from your newspaper and are forced to join the shadowy world of bloggers.

[novo organon]

01:08 PM on 03/11/2010

Patterson's facial expression is what it means to be relieved.

[luvly56]

01:02 PM on 03/11/2010

Paterson always said that he's done no wrong and that people that wanted him out of the office were scheming with lies to get him out of the office. I can imagine that most of the schemers are Republicans. Thats why for everything they do to a Democratic comes back twofold at them with at least 3 or 4 of them loosing their positions.

[dulceburro]

01:02 PM on 03/11/2010

if justice were as blind as tis guy...

[dourdinlives]

12:52 PM on 03/11/2010

deja vu all over again...remember detroits young black mayor. he cheated on wife lied about it..just like giuliani did..but look at the different results. it's all about bullcrap and letting black men know they don't have the rights of a white man.

[Steamboater]

03:03 PM on 03/11/2010

What's bullcrap is that you haven't a clue that the issue is witness tampering.

[banker67]

12:32 PM on 03/11/2010

He's not a saint. I get that. He should do better. I get that.
What is less clear is why these alleged comparatively minor transgressions got a tsunami of ink.
I have to assume there was some behind-the-scenes effort among those who make the decisions in the New York media culture.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot states would be grateful to get a governor who ONLY erred as Paterson is said to have done.
Let's ask those discerning conservative voters in South Carolina if they'd prefer a guy who -- heaven forfend -- MAY have accepted free tickets to a ball game. Or he did accept them; I can't remember.
On second thought, South Carolina may be a poor model to offer.
Nuts

[Gmoney1]

12:29 PM on 03/11/2010

media frenzy will never end - now their on to another frenzy - Pelosi

[Cakey4814]

12:08 PM on 03/11/2010

In other words the NY newspapers smear campaign didn't work and now they're pizzed..look for more of these articles.