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By JACOB GERSHMAN

An independent counsel investigating allegations of witness tampering against New York Gov. David A. Paterson is not recommending any criminal charges against him.

After a five-month probe, Judith S. Kaye, the state's former chief judge, released a 57-page report of her investigation, which concluded that while Mr. Paterson committed "errors of judgement" they did not rise to the level of a crime.

Ms. Kaye's conclusions are a bittersweet victory for a lame-duck governor, who withdrew from running for another term in February after media reports suggested that he may have interfered with a witness in a domestic-abuse case involving a staffer.
[0629paterson2] Associated Press

Gov. David A. Paterson made "errors of judgement" but should not face criminal charges, a judge concluded Wednesday.

Ms. Kaye did not exonerate the staffer, David Johnson, who had an allegedly violent altercation with a former girlfriend on October 31. The allegations, the report said, warrant "consideration of possible charges" by local prosecutors.

Mr. Paterson, a Democrat and New York's first African-American governor, succeeded Eliot Spitzer, who he quit amid his own scandal in early 2008. Throughout the controversy, Mr. Paterson has maintained his innocence