Paterson: I Am Not A Crook. But Could His Actions Lead To Charges?

Embattled Governor Should Resign. Who’s Going To Tell Him?

The New York Times’ Clyde Haberman, who celebrates his thirty-third anniversary at that paper this year, writes of another politician who was forced to deny his criminal wrongdoings.

“For some refugees from the 1970s, Nixon came to mind the other day as they watched Gov. David A. Paterson raise his right hand, like a witness at a criminal trial, and swear his innocence. His hand flourish was not particularly Nixonian. But his words were.

“I give you this personal oath,” the governor said. “I have never abused my office — not now, not ever.” His statement evoked Nixon’s “I’m not a crook” statement, uttered in 1973 as the horror show known as Watergate enveloped him and ultimately forced him into exile.

“That a chief executive feels obliged to deny gross wrongdoing is hardly reassuring to those who depend on his leadership and judgment.”

Politico reports,

“Although the issue of intent is always critical in obstruction cases, the Times story lays out a scenario that a prosecutor might well take a hard look at,” Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor and former federal prosecutor, told POLITICO Monday night.

“Attorney General Andrew Cuomo – the likely Democratic nominee to succeed Paterson – is already investigating the incident, which could also fall under the jurisdiction of the Bronx District Attorney.”

Joe.My.God writes,

“Resignation appears more and more likely.”

I agree.
And the sooner the better.

With a budget gap of over $9 billion, with little to no action from the governor on that crucial issue, with Lt. Governor Ravitch even discussing the possibility of a Paterson resignation (“Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch said today that he doesn’t believe there is any “compelling reason” for the governor to resign,) with the state Attorney General investigating Paterson for abuse, with that scandal now widening, with yet another scandal involving a Governor and the State Police, with the National Organization for Women calling for Paterson to resign, with Paterson having the lowest approval rating of any New York governor ever, with Paterson having never been elected to that office, with Paterson being forced to cancel his candidacy for election after less than one week, with this scandal growing for the past month, with his inability to get the state legislature to do their job, and with a Lieutenant Governor who is much better-known and respected than the governor himself, is there any reason Paterson should not leave office — one way or another?

Oh, and let’s not’t forget this:

“New York State voters say 76 – 19 percent that their state government is dysfunctional, and 58 percent say it is “among the worst” or “the worst in the nation.”