Panel Considers Caroline Kennedy Leak Probe: Report
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Gov. David Paterson (l.) appointed upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to New York's vacant U.S. Senate seat over Kennedy (r.) back in January.
A New York state ethics panel is Reviewing a request from three watchdog groups to probe leaks of unsubstantiated personal allegations about Caroline Kennedy by an associate of Gov. David Paterson.
The panel hasn't decided whether to investigate, a Commission on Public Integrity spokesman told The New York Times Thursday
“There are two issues for us,” Blair Horner, the legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said in an interview with The Times. “One is that it appears to us there is an ethical violation and it should be investigated, and the second issue is that it’s a test of the commission. Are they willing to enforce the law without fear or favor?”
The claims about Kennedy's personal life came after she withdrew from consideration for a U.S. Senate appointment in January. Paterson was in charge of the selection.
A state official is barred from disclosing “confidential information acquired by him in the course of his official duties” or from releasing “confidential information which he has gained by reason of his official position,” according to sections of the Public Officers Law bar cited by The Times.
Kennedy and other candidates for Hilary Clinton's vacated U.S. Senate seat were asked by the Paterson administration to fill out questionnaires during the selection process under the promise that the information would remain confidential.
The Paterson administration said during the selection process that information in the questionnaires did not have to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Law because of exemptions for invasion of personal privacy. Government watchdog groups argue personal information from the forms may have been leaked after Kennedy's withdrawal and that may have violated privacy provisions, according to The Times report.
A Paterson spokesman said he's confident the laws weren't violated.
"We are confident there were no violations of the Public Officers Law with respect to this matter, and any investigation into these allegations will confirm that," Paterson spokesman Peter Kauffmann said Friday.
Polls show Paterson's popularity has plummeted in part of because of the Kennedy leaks, which he said came from a political consultant who no longer advises him. Paterson, a Democrat, chose Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand in January to succeed Clinton when she became secretary of State.
A representative said Kennedy has no comment.
