Calls for Gov. David Paterson to resign are premature, but considering Paterson’s less-than-full accounting for his role in the scandal that chased him from the campaign, they’re hardly unexpected.
For weeks, rumors swirled about a blockbuster story that would surely force Paterson into a position like that of his predecessor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned after being caught in a prostitution sting.
To date, no hard proof has been proffered that Paterson has committed a crime. There is smoke, but so far no smoking gun in the case of a domestic dispute involving Paterson’s close aide and friend David Johnson.
Press accounts, primarily reporting by the New York Times, have brought to light a disturbing Halloween night incident between Johnson and his girlfriend. The woman, according to court records, accused Johnson of choking her and throwing her against a mirrored dresser. He took two phones away from her when she tried to call for help. A second woman witnessed the assault, according to Times reporters.
The woman sought to press charges against Johnson and, according to those same court records, she was harassed and threatened multiple times by members of the governor’s state police detail if she persisted. Eventually, she stopped pursuing the criminal complaint.
It remains unclear what if any knowledge Paterson had of the state police’s role or of the incident itself. The governor has said he believed the incident to have been heated, but not violent. He acknowledged speaking personally with the woman in question, offering his support as a friend.
To date, no one has proven the governor wrong. That’s not to say he hasn’t acted improperly, but at present he’s guilty of mishandling a sensitive situation involving a close friend. There exists no proof as yet that he ordered state officials to cover up that friend’s domestic abuse.
If Paterson is to serve out the remainder of his term with any sort of capability as an effective executive, he needs to offer a full and complete public accounting of what he knew, when he knew it and what he did about it. He should cooperate fully with an investigation by the state attorney general’s office (an investigation Paterson asked by convened). He should pledge to fire anyone who acted improperly and follow through on that promise when all the facts have been brought to light.
At least, that’s what a person who has nothing to hide should do.
