Independent Counsel Judith Kaye did not deem Gov. Paterson’s conduct in the so-called Abusegate domestic-violence affair to be criminal — but her report on the scandal is hardly an exoneration. On the contrary.
The former state chief judge’s 57-page account not only rips the governor and key aides for “errors in judgment,” it flatly accuses Paterson and his lawyers of failing to “keep [their] public commitment to cooperate fully with the [probe].”
In fact, Kaye — who assumed the investigation after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recused himself — says her staff “learned inadvertently” that Paterson’s official counsel was improperly sharing documents with his personal lawyers and possibly with other witnesses.
And when they were asked not to do so, “it is unclear” whether they stopped.
Moreover, Paterson’s aides stalled when it came to producing those documents — which “considerably delayed the progress of the investigation.”
Now, a less charitable observer might suspect a coordinated cover-up was under way — but not, alas, Kaye.
At the very least, that’s not the kind of cooperation one would expect from Paterson, given that he requested this probe, insisting he had nothing to hide.
The investigation centered on the alleged attack last Halloween by one of Paterson’s former top aides, David Johnson, against his then-girlfriend, Sherr-una Booker, and whether the governor and several other aides improperly pressured her not to press a criminal case.
Kaye did recommend several criminal charges against Johnson, but found that the questionable conduct of Paterson and several key aides in contacting Booker and discussing the case with her did not constitute criminal conduct.
Still, she found, the governor himself continued to reach out to Booker “even after he became aware of the serious nature of her accusations” against his top aide — and even after he’d asked Cuomo to open an investigation.
Kaye’s report paints a sorry picture of key aides scrambling to try to protect Paterson from political embarrassment, particularly amid swirling rumors that The New York Times was about to publish a devastating story.
Witnesses repeatedly contradicted each other or said they couldn’t recall key details of the months-long affair. Without corroborating evidence, Kaye apparently declined to decide who was telling the truth and who was conveniently “misremembering.”
Meanwhile, Paterson still remains under investigation concerning his receipt of Yankee tickets and false statements he appears to have made regarding them. So, stay tuned on that one.
All in all, a pretty sordid mess.