For days now, buzz has been building that the New York Times was prepping an explosive exposé that would lead to Governor Paterson’s swift resignation. The blog hysteria peaked over the weekend, when Business Insider reported that the Times piece was due out this morning and that Paterson would leave office. But Monday morning came and there was no sign of the Times piece.
Inside the paper, staffers have been irked by the hothouse blog hysteria. Yes, a Times piece is in the works. Albany bureau chief Danny Hakim is reporting the piece, along with Nick Confessore and “Metro” reporter Serge Kovaleski. The reporters haven’t submitted a draft yet. They are set to interview Paterson tomorrow, and have been reporting far and wide on Paterson’s personal dealings. When reached for comment, Hakim declined to talk about the piece. “I’m hanging up the phone,” he said. “Good-bye.”
According to a source close to the Paterson camp who is familiar with the scope of the Times’ reporting, the Times piece will be an in-depth profile of the governor focused on his personal character. There are likely to be new details about his marital infidelities, but the source added that it’s not going to be the bombshell the blogs have predicted. “The piece is PG-13, not XXX,” the source explained. “Not to say it won’t be problematic, but the Aqueduct situation? That’s potentially criminal. On his extramarital affairs, the question is who those people are, and what jobs they’ve held.”
