All Over Albany

Independent counsel: Paterson made "errors of judgment"

Judith Kaye's independent counsel investigation of David Paterson's involvement with Sherr-Una Booker, the woman who accused Paterson aide David Johnson of domestic violence, released its report today. From the executive summary:

The Independent Counsel finds no evidence that the State Police or the Executive Chamber interfered with the NYPD response to the October 31, 2009 domestic incident. However, evidence revealed errors in the NYPD response to the incident and errors in judgment following the incident by the head of the Governor's State Police protection detail, by Johnson and another close aide to the Governor, and indeed by the Governor himself. There were numerous telephone contacts between the Governor and Booker, some that he initiated even after he became aware of the serious nature of her accusations, and even just after he referred this matter to the [office of the attorney general]. Regardless of any good faith reasons on the part of the Governor for contacts that he initiated, these were errors of judgment.

The report doesn't recommend that Paterson face any charges, but says the evidence "warrants consideration of possible charges against David Johnson." Booker recently said she would ask prosecutors to pursue charges against Johnson.

The news that state police may have had tried to influence Booker -- and that Paterson himself had contacted her -- prompted the governor to halt his bid for re-election.

About those Yankee tickets: the Kaye report says the Paterson administration's alleged attempt to score free Yankees tickets "remains under review."