Governor Paterson cleared of witness tampering

By Eileen Buckley

Albany, NY – Governor David Paterson has been cleared of criminal charges for his involvement in a domestic violence case involving one of his former top aides.

But an independent investigation does say the Governor used "very bad judgement" in contacting a woman who had been involved in a violent domestic situation with his former aid David Johnson.

A New York Times article revealed the Governor contacted the woman to pressure her not to take legal action. The investigation has cleared Paterson of witness tampering, finding no evidence that the State Police or the Executive Chamber interfered with police in their response to October 31, 2009 domestic incident. But it did find that there could be possible charges filed against Johnson.

The investigation led by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye. New York State General Andrew Cuomo, a candidate for Governor, recused himself from the investigation.

You can access the full report online Independent Counsel to the Office of the Attorney General, Web server.