On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Paterson had called the alleged victim prior to one of her key court appearances in the case. The unidentified woman also reportedly told investigators that State Police had been “calling me and harassing me to drop the charges.” Paterson's office has acknowledged he talked to the woman but says she placed the call. A spokeswoman for the governor also denied allegations that Paterson had tried to keep the woman from pursuing domestic violence charges against Johnson.
In regards to the incident, the woman reportedly told police Johnson “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.”
Paterson formally announced his campaign just five days ago but had already faced mounting calls from Democrats to drop out of the race in the midst of controversy that had arisen from a previous New York Times article claiming that he had often been off duty and hard to contact during many of the most important moments of his governorship.
Paterson became governor in 2008, after former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a high-priced prostitution scandal. Paterson's decision to step down will allow Attorney General Andrew Cuomo a shot at running for the governorship unopposed. Paterson currently holds an approval rating of 26 percent, which is the lowest point in the 27 years of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion poll that conducted the study.
Paterson is expected to announce his decision not to run for reelection later today.
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