With speculation about the contents of a forthcoming New York Times "bombshell" report on Governor Paterson reaching a fever pitch, Paterson personally addressed the salacious rumors in an interview with the Associated Press yesterday, reiterating that he hasn't been involved sexually with another woman since he was separated from his wife a decade ago, and hasn't done drugs since his early 20s. "For the last couple of weeks I have been the subject of what, even by Albany standards, has been a spate of outrageous rumors about me," Paterson said. "There is an accountability that should exist in the media. How do I get my reputation back? Because I don't believe I have done anything to deserve this kind of bashing." (Yesterday, a source close to Paterson told Daily Intel that the Times's story "is PG-13, not XXX.")
The Times is expected to publish their story as soon as tomorrow, following an interview with Paterson today. Rumors about the unrevealed dirt range from "drug-fueled swinger parties at the Governor's mansion" to "He's not really blind." Yesterday Paterson called the gossip "callous and sleazy," and "acknowledged that the allegations played to stereotypes about black men." (They also play to the stereotypes of past New York Governors, and Paterson himself, who has admitted to drug use and sexual infidelity.)
In a thinly-veiled insinuation, Paterson seemed to point the finger at his presumptive election rival Andrew Cuomo, remarking that the rumors are "certainly serving others' interest and not mine." But according to the Post, several sources interviewed by Times reporters believe the paper has been speaking to the jilted ex-lover of Paterson staffer and confidant David Johnson. The Post also spreads a rumor that Paterson was late arriving at the scene of last February's Buffalo plane crash because he was "preoccupied with a local lady friend."
Meanwhile, the Post's Fred Dicker opines that "by sitting on their supposed blockbuster of a story for nearly two weeks, the Times' scribes have created a paralytic frenzy in state government the likes of which have never been seen before. Perhaps they're bucking for the first Pulitzer Prize ever awarded for buzz." (It's okay to be jealous, Dicker). In return, Paterson blasted the Post for their item about a State Trooper catching him embracing a woman in a utility closet in the Executive Mansion, insisting the room in which he was reportedly caught doesn't even exist. Post Editor in Chief Col Allan stood by the story and asked, "Does the governor's mansion not have a single closet?"
It was also revealed yesterday that 10 members of Paterson's security detail were transferred out of the unit; a source in the State Police tells the Daily News, "My feeling is they are trying to plug the leaks." And another source tells the Post, "They're trying to smoke out the leaker. What they don't realize it's almost everybody on the detail because everyone's sick of his behavior." State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt says the transfer was routine and that, to his knowledge, no one on the Governor's security detail has witnessed anything illegal or improper.
Never one to miss an opening, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio caught the buzz wave by penning an open letter to Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, demanding the paper "confirm or print it. If you do not, then you have a moral obligation to stop the drama and the psychological warfare on Governor Paterson. Unfortunately, these rumors about the Governor are a sad reflection of Albany politics." Heh, yeah like that one time State Sen. Kevin Parker called Paterson a "coke-snorting, staff-banging governor."
Finally, Paterson was at the Times headquarters yesterday to meet with the editorial board about his plans to run for Governor, which he says he will formally announce within a couple weeks. Asked about his personal relationship with Cuomo, whom he's known for years, Paterson quipped, "We went on a rafting trip with our families a few years ago. That was when I guess I missed my chance."
By John Del Signore
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