Governor of a big state uses his powers to help a key aide hide thuggery against a woman, said governor also using the police to nudge the woman into being, shall we say, a bit more cooperative. What century are we in?
Well, the New York Times piece involving Paterson has dropped and it’s as bad as it gets. Stick a fork in him, this guy is finished.
If you haven’t read the previous pieces, you need to begin with acquainting yourself with David W. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson, 37, has also on three occasions been involved in altercations with women, two of which led to calls to the police. As recently as October, the police responded to a complaint of harassment at a Bronx address of a woman involved with him. It is unclear if the altercation was verbal or physical or both, but the case is listed as closed.
Mr. Johnson has a history of repeated problems with aggression towards women, which Gov. Paterson has dismissed, because he believes in him. The latest is not going to go away, with Paterson’s reported behavior unethical and immoral.
Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man.
In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice to press her case, complaining that the State Police had been harassing her to drop it. The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor’s personal security detail.
Then, just before she was due to return to court to seek a final protective order, the woman got a phone call from the governor, according to her lawyer. She failed to appear for her next hearing on Feb. 8, and as a result her case was dismissed. …
In the Times piece today, the reporting is clear that Johnson has been protected, but also that the woman now involved is obviously scared due to the powers involved in the case. Paterson has championed Johnson, promoting him higher and closer to power.
The woman was allegedly choked, with Johnson beating her.
She told the police that Mr. Johnson, who is 6-foot-7, had choked her, stripped her of much of her clothing, smashed her against a mirrored dresser and taken two telephones from her to prevent her from calling for help, according to police records.
The woman was twice granted a temporary order of protection against Mr. Johnson, according to the proceedings in Family Court in the Bronx.
“I’m scared he’s going to come back,” she said, according to the proceedings, in which a court referee at the initial hearing noted bruises on the woman’s arm.
But Gov. Paterson judged that Johnson didn’t have a problem with women, because he had “grown significantly over the years,” as the Times reports it.
Ask any expert, domestic violence is not self-treatable. It certainly doesn’t go away when you have powerful males like the governor of New York protecting you.
Paterson has suspended Johnson without pay, asking the AG to investigate.
So, this nightmare just landed on Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo’s lap.
This report is so damning, with others alleging Paterson called the woman just before her case went to trial, according to her lawyer, though it’s also being alleged she called him, Gov. Paterson may not survive politically.
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