Denise O'Donnell (gov)
The resignation on Thursday of Denise E. O’Donnell as New York’s deputy secretary for public safety and commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services could wind up propelling her toward a run for New York attorney general, The Buffalo News reports.
O’Donnell, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York from 1998 to 2001, resigned as one of New York Democratic Gov. David Paterson’s top aides, to protest the handling of the latest scandal in New York state government. O’Donnell complained that the state police, which was under her purview, was involved in the affair, saying that she had been assured that the state police was not involved.
O’Donnell in a statement said that communication by the governor and state police with a woman who requested a protective order against Paterson aide David Johnson, was “unacceptable regardless of their intent.” The Buffalo News reports O’Donnell claimed she was misled by the state police — one of the agencies she oversaw — about its role in the incident.
According to the newspaper, “The departure of Buffalo’s Denise E. O’Donnell from two top criminal justice posts in the Paterson administration serves as more than a statement of moral outrage — though that’s certainly part of it. It also allows O’Donnell to pursue her long-held dream of running for attorney general.”
The former federal prosecutor previously sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2006 but did not get the necessary 25 percent at the party’s state convention in Buffalo to qualify for the primary ballot that year, the newspaper reports. She withdrew from the race at the convention.
But, following Friday’s announcement by Paterson that he is ending his bid for a full term, the Democratic field has all but been cleared for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to seek the Democratic nomination, The Buffalo News reported.
If that came to pass, O’Donnell would be a likely candidate for Cuomo’s job as state attorney general. In addition to her past efforts to seek the position, she also retained a huge war chest — nearly $350,000 cash on hand — from her 2006 bid, according to the newspaper.
Too bad Denise didn’t fake such moral outrage while she was an Assistant US Attorney under Dennis Vacco and the NY Attorney General’s office in Buffalo was fixing federal civil rights trials and manufacturing evidence against litigants. The trial that exposed the corruption in the OAG was a civil rights trial against the NY State Police.
This is also the trial that would later have political ramifications–the early 1993 resignations from office of then NY Attorney General Robert Abrams and NYS Comptroller Ed Regan amid charges, supported by a trial record and an independent investigation by Mario Cuomo, that state funds were being used to obtain favorable
judgments in lawsuits defended by the OAG.
Still want to vote for Denise O’Donnell?
I;m happy to see one person with integrity in Albany. I look forward to voting for Denise O’Donnell for AG.
I just can’t believe after sticking it out so long, that all of a sudden he is dropping out the race. This is a witch hunt. He is basically being bullied on every corner, a bull in a ring… I mean what is going on here, now he is bein accused of tampering with a witness????? Look, he’s not even close to bein guilty of that its a setup!!! Check this story
http://bit.ly/9A11cW
This is what happens to uncorrupted politicians