Multiple Sources Say NY Times To Drop Bombshell Scandal Story About Governor Paterson

NY Governor David Paterson took office when his predecessor Elliot Spitzer, spent thousands of dollars in bed with his black socks and hookers. New York State might be heading for a second straight Governor who got hit with an illegal use use of groin penalty.

Multiple sources have reported that the rumor mill is buzzing about a “big, damaging” New York Times “bombshell” story that supposedly features some ruinous dirt about the personal life of Governor David Paterson. Unlike the hatchet job on John McCain, this one may very well be true.

Over the past few weeks there have been two incidents of where Paterson was caught with his pants in the cookie jar.  He was seen nuzzling at a New Jersey restaurant with a woman other than his wife. And this past weekend NY Post's Page 6   reported that he was caught in an embarrassing situation  in the governor's mansion, "At one point [a state trooper] opened the door to an electrical closet/utility room that isn't normally used," a source told columnist Fred Dicker. "The trooper opened the door and the first thing he saw was the governor and a woman inside and the two of them snuggling together, embracing. There was nothing more than that, snuggling, and they had their clothes on."

According to sources who have actually been interviewed for the Times’ story, its central narrative is the role played by members of Paterson’s inner circle in his personal and political activities.

Rumors about a possibly publication date for the story have ranged from Monday to today; the latest suggests Sunday, but it’s hard to believe that the Times would hold the story much longer when knowledge that it’s pending has put every other reporter in the Capitol and elsewhere on the scent. Possible reasons for delay include editorial fine-tuning and thorough legal review.

The Daily News, coincidentally, had just run a story claiming that trooper presence in the mansion had recently been reduced "after a number of incidents in which the governor and First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson were 'startled' by troopers." When State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt wrote a letter to the Post editors denying these stories, Daily News Albany chronicler Elizabeth Benjamin saw fit to mention the exposé rumors publicly for the first time. At around the same time, Observer media reporter John Koblin tweeted that he'd been hearing the same buzz. "Anyone hearing about NYT bombshell on Paterson?" he asked. "Heard big, damanging story comin. [sic] been working for weeks, but still not published yet."

The Times hasn't run anything yet, but now that news of the story is beginning to leak out I would be very surprised if the story didn't break by Monday the very latest.