It was the Friday of what had been a very bad week in the press for those rooting for Mr. Paterson--lackluster poll numbers, a meager financial filing and, on that same day, the abrupt resignation of Tracy Sefl, one of his struggling campaign's crucial staffers.

"I tell myself you guys must have a system where it looks worse than it really is :)," wrote Ms. Boykin-Towns.

In the midst of the public-relations breakdown that would eventually lead to the end of Mr. Paterson's reelection campaign, email messages to and from three top Paterson aides--obtained by The Observer under the Freedom of Information Act--show an administration trying to defend itself on an ever increasing number of fronts and sympathetic friends trying to bolster spirits.

The Observer requested emails received and sent by Mr. Johnson, Special Assistant Clemmie Harris, Communications Director Peter Kauffmann and Press Secretary Marissa Shorenstein over a period of 15 months, but the administration replied with only a selection of messages; no emails for Ms. Shorenstein and very few of Mr. Kauffmann's were provided. Other media outlets have had similar experiences; the Columbia Journalism Review announced last week it will sue the administration after it was flatly denied emails for either press aide.

On Jan. 29, the governor announced the winner of the long-delayed lucrative contract to develop a casino at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens. Soon there were reports of a federal investigation into how the contract was decided; a week later, rumors began to swirl that The New York Times was sitting on a story that would force Mr. Paterson's immediate resignation.

"Is the gov going to STRIKE back and do smackdown? Of NYT?" asked Bill White, then the head of the Intrepid Museum, who wrote frequently to Mr. Johnson to offer advice on how to rehabilitate the governor's image and fend off the looming threat of a challenge from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

"Yes," replied Mr. Johnson, with typical brevity.

But no amount of smacking could quell the rumors, though the communications staff tried to swat away stories where it could.

In one of the few exchanges with the press provided to The Observer, Mr. Kauffmann accused Erik Engquist, a reporter for Crain's, on Feb. 4 of "a lack of journalistic integrity," for a "gossip item" that was to run the next day about the Times rumors.

"You're welcome to accuse us of a lack of journalistic integrity tomorrow, but to do so before we've published anything seems premature," wrote Mr. Engquist.

"Fair enough," Mr. Kauffmann wrote. "I will wait until tomorrow then."

The following week, when Mr. Engquist wrote to question the governor's negative public comments about the story, Mr. Kaufmann chided the paper as the "first legitimate news outlet to print an item about rumor and innuendo with no independent sourcing or information."

When The Times finally ran a relatively innocuous story on Mr. Johnson's youthful transgressions on Feb. 16, well-wishers emailed Mr. Johnson to offer their support.

"The more attention you get the more attention people want to give you," wrote President Obama's body man, Reggie Love, who said he "enjoyed reading" the story. "Proud to see you've never let up."

Mr. Johnson mostly responded with brief notes of appreciation, but in one reply, he thanked God for his supportive friends.

"I pray that I never let you or anybody else down," he wrote. "Just like our ancestors we have challenges put before us to pave the way for our youth. I am proud to be that vessel. I accept the challenge. Just so you know I am loyal, fully focused and will continue to press on."

"As they told me after my first big story about me 'welcome to the BIG leagues'!" wrote lobbyist Charles Breslin, a former aide to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. Mr. Breslin, who in 2002 was arrested for possession of heroin, had been in frequent contact with Mr. Johnson regarding potential state contracts. "You look GREAT!" he wrote.

Eight days later, after The Times published the much more damaging account of the governor's intervention in Mr. Johnson's domestic dispute, Mr. Breslin was one of the few who emailed. "Call me I want to hire you during this time if your [sic] allowed to advise my company on a part time basis," he wrote.

Mr. Breslin did not return requests for comment. An attorney for Mr. Johnson, Oscar Michelen, said he did not accept Mr. Breslin's offer and remains suspended without pay by the state. 

"I will be vindicated," said Mr. Johnson, the suspended driver to Governor Paterson, who now finds himself at the center of two scandals involving his longtime aide. "I've been a dedicated public servant to the community for over 15 years despite the other allegations that are out there," he said.

"The most important thing to remember is that criminal charges were never brought in this case," said Mr. Johnson's attorney, Oscar Michelen. "Even thought the police did come to the apartment that night, after they spoke to the complainant, seeing no evidence of a crime they did not arrest or attempt to arrest Mr. Johnson."

NBC has the video.

The New York State Commission on Public Integrity charged David Paterson with an ethics violation today, after the governor accepted free tickets to a World Series game back in November.

Paterson first said he had been invited, but Yankees President Randy Levine told the Post: "He's a liar. I never talked to him." The commission says he may lied under oath about his intention to pay for the tickets, for which he allegedly submitted a backdated check. The commission is asking Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate.

Who solicited the tickets for the governor's son, and his son's friend?

Top aide David Johnson, according to the Post report at the time.

Here's the sequence of events, according to Kelly:

“The initial report was on Halloween, a complaint of assault or violence. Officers responded and took a complaint report, prepared a domestic incident report, took a hand-written statement from the complainant, attached that to the report. The next day the domestic violence officers–-each precinct has a team of domestic violence officers–-responded to the location. There was no one home. They responded another time and went there. I’m led to believe that the officers were told by the complainant that she had obtained an order of protection and that it was served.”

Kelly deflected other questions--Will DJ be arrested? Did state troopers intefere with an NYPD matter? Did the NYPD handle this properly?--on the grounds that the matter is under investigation by the attorney general.

Paterson was speaking outside the Hilton in midtown, where he was to deliver remarks at the annual gala of 100 Black Men, Inc. of New York City.

The governor said he is not suspending his campaign, but, "I am talking to a number of elected officials around the state" to seek "their opinion."

"I'm obviously listening to them," he said.

Rep. Steve Israel, State Senator Bill Perkins and others have already called on Paterson to end his campaign.

Paterson declined to answer any questions about his involvement in the incident that threatens to end his political career, in which he and the state police reportedly contacted a woman who was filing a formal complaint of domestic violence against David Johnson, a top aide to the governor.

Paterson said he thought the attorney general, who is also his likely opponent in the gubernatorial election, can conduct a fair investigation.

Of the Democrats he intends to speak with, Paterson said, "I will weigh what they have to say."

Somewhat suprisingly, there are still some people willing to get up and say they still support Governor David Paterson.

City Councilman Robert Jackson said not only is he attending Paterson's campaign event in Harlem this weekend, he's going ahead with plans to endorse him.

"I'm not concerned at all," said Jackson after a press conference at 250 Broadway. "I think that every individual, no matter who we are, have some issues and concerns in their family lives."

Jackson praised Paterson for asking the attorney general to do an investigation into the situation, and said, "I don't know what else people can ask for."

"I stand with our governor," Jackson added.

In an interview, the chairman of the New York County Democratic Organization, Assemblyman Keith Wright, said, "I'm supporting my governor."

Wright also defended Paterson's alleged phone call with the woman who was trying without success to get an order of protection against Paterson's aide, David Johnson, and who also told a court that state police officers were harassing her into not filing a complaint.

Wright said Paterson's discussion with the woman was appropriate.

"All my sources indicate that whatever conversation he had with her was only to console her and to see if he could be of any benefit to her, my sources tell me. And it was a very short conversation."

But, this morning's New York Times story says the governor himself spoke to a woman earlier this month who was trying to file an order of protection against Johnson.

 This morning, Paterson was on John Gambling's radio show, and confronted with the contradiction.

"You said you didn't know anything about this," said Gambling, "but according to The New York Times this morning, you had a telephone conversation with the unnamed woman" about three weeks ago.

"Uh, John, what I'm going to tell you is that I've now turned this over to the attorney general. This is now an investigation," Paterson said. "The best thing for me is that the actual facts come out. In other words, the facts as they occurred, not what one might think."

When Gambling asked again if Paterson had a conversation with the woman, the governor sidestepped the issue.

"You see, John, I don't want to talk about that because, those are things the attorney general will ask myself about," he said. "I don't want to step in front of it."

"I'll just let the facts come out,"  the governor said. "That will be the best way for this to work and that will be the best thing for me."

According to the Daily News, a Paterson aide denied the governor made the call to the woman. The aide said the woman called the governor.

Here are the palm cards from 2005 when Paterson's top aide, David Johnson, ran for district leader in Harlem. The palm card, provided by a reader, describes Johnson as "a high ranking official" in Paterson's office.

Johnson did not win. But it does show, that at one time, he stepped into the spotlight.

The story says, essentially, that Mr. Paterson is often absentee, not an effective manager, and is squandering campaign cash. Which confirms what everyone was saying up until Tuesday afternoon--that it was going to take something seriously damning to drop a bombshell on an unpopular governor who's already admitted to drug use and extramarital affairs.

Instead, the two reporters, Danny Hakim and William K. Rashbaum--with the help of four other credited reporters--delved into the life of David Winston Johnson, the governor's occasionally erratic driver and body man, who was apparently caught selling drugs as a teenager and, more recently, may or may not have had violent encounters with women.

The paper had tried to tamp down expectations, but the disappointment is already palpable. Suffice it to say, the revelations seem unlikely to spur the governor's immediate resignation.

At 1:15 a.m., Mr. Paterson sent out a statement explaining, in his own words, Mr. Johnson's rise.

"When I was a State Senator serving a district torn apart by the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, I dedicated myself to restoring the community and providing opportunities for young people struggling to find their way. We took interns in our office who wanted to dedicate themselves to getting an education and giving back to the neighborhood. One of these interns was so successful that he became a member of my staff – working his way up from a driver to a constituent service provider, to become a key intergovernmental relations advisor and a trusted friend. David Johnson's growth as a political professional has surprised even his greatest advocates, and I am proud that he has demonstrated what someone can accomplish when given a second chance.

"The New York Times has chosen to splash his youthful offenses across the pages of its newspaper – even though the courts of our State have ordered them to be sealed. Mistakes committed during one's youth are determined by law to be kept sealed for a reason – to give a young person a second chance at a productive life. I profoundly believe in this principle of redemption and giving young people a second chance.

"The more recent allegations reported on by the Times would be extremely troubling if true – but the conclusions reached by the Times report are not supported by the facts. There is no independent evidence presented that would substantiate any claims of violence committed by David Johnson against a woman, a fact underscored by the absence of a single judicial finding that any such incident ever took place. I would caution others from making a similar rush to judgment."