New York Gov. David Paterson faced new revelations about his intervention in a domestic violence episode involving a chief aide, reports the New York Times. Paterson’s criminal justice adviser, Denise O'Donnell, resigned, saying it was “unacceptable” that Paterson and the state police had made contact with a woman who was seeking an order of protection against the aide, and that she could not “in good conscience” remain in her job.
Calls grew for Paterson to end his candidacy for election this fall. The case involves David Johnson, an aide and a confidant of the governor, who was accused by a longtime companion of assaulting her last Oct. 31. O’Donnell, a former federal prosecutor said, “It is particularly distressing that this could happen in an administration that prides itself on its record of combating domestic violence. The behavior alleged here is the antithesis of what many of us have spent our entire careers working to build – a legal system that protects victims of domestic violence and brings offenders to justice.”