For some reason, a typical voice-mail message is full of more ums, uhs, pauses, and sentence fragments than regular speech, and also lasts way too long. Governor Paterson’s voice mails are no different, as we now know from reading a verbatim transcript released today as part of the Judith Kaye Report of one he left for Sherr-una Booker the day after the Times dropped its accidental bombshell story on his meddling in her case against aide David Johnson.
“Sherri, this is David. You should see the way they wrote this story. They’re trying to make it look like I pressured you into dropping this court case. Please help me. Your lawyer — his statement makes it sound the same way.
Um, I mean — I was trying to find out about the rumors involving myself. You placed the call to me around ten minutes to four on Sunday, February the 7th — it was the day of the Superbowl. And, um, in the conversation, we just talked about the things that — that — you didn’t say anything about me, and I didn’t say about you.
Then we went on to talk about other stuff, but — I hope, uh — you remember that I was not trying to make you do anything, and — I hope your lawyer will do something to help me here, because this, uh, doesn’t look good for me, and I wasn’t in this. And this is exactly what they’re after. And I — I was just not in this and didn’t — um, you know — want to play a role in it.
And, to be honest with you, I believe you. So — um, anyway, uh — if you can help to clear this up, because it — that portrayal, that conversation — we didn’t talk for one minute, we talked for ten or fifteen minutes. And, um — I did tell you that I was there for you, and you could call me.
‘This Doesn’t Look Good For Me’ [State of Politics/Capital Tonight]
