David Paterson

Paterson is also being investigated over contact with a woman who had accused a top aide of domestic violence.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A senior state Democrat tells The Associated Press that black party leaders in Gov. David Paterson's New York City neighborhood hope to craft a "message calling for the governor to resign."

The Democrat briefed on the meeting planned for Thursday night spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Black leaders at the meeting in Harlem could play a large role in the fate of New York's first black governor.

A black Democratic adviser who also spoke on condition of anonymity says the Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to say he's rethinking his support for Paterson.

Paterson is being investigated over contact with a woman who had accused a top aide of domestic violence. He also faces ethics charges over free New York Yankees tickets.

Paterson says he is innocent and won't quit. His office didn't respond to requests for comment.

The meeting is set for Thursday night at a restaurant in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood and follows a flurry of calls overnight in which many of the leaders reconsidered their support for Paterson. Those calls were also voiced in a similar summit Saturday in Harlem, although the group overall supported Paterson's plan to continue to serve. He had ended his campaign for a full term the day before.

"I still believe that he's entitled to the presumption of innocence, but as each day brings more severe reports, his ability to govern effectively is called into question," said a second prominent black leader in New York City who attended Saturday's meeting and is invited to Thursday's meeting.

"I got the impression that the seriousness of the charges against him has grown since the group met Saturday, and this presented an opportunity to re-evaluate or determine what is necessary to stake out another position if necessary," the leader said.

The second Democrat, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said there is increased pressure on Paterson to either tell his side of the story, which the governor has said will exonerate him, or step aside.

Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger confirmed the meeting but declined to comment further on Paterson. The leaders will also discuss issues including health care, education and jobs, she said.

Paterson represented Harlem for 20 years in the state Senate before becoming lieutenant governor in 2006, then governor in 2008, when Eliot Spitzer stepped down during a prostitution scandal.

The news about the Manhattan meeting contrasted with a statement Thursday by an organization of black police officers who stepped up to show support for Paterson. The group, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, urged an end to what it called a "rush to judgment."

Still, the damage was mounting in the wake of the scandal plaguing Paterson over contact he and others in his administration had with a woman who had accused a top aide of domestic violence. At issue is whether Paterson or others urged the woman to drop her complaint.

Paterson was also accused Wednesday of breaking ethics laws when he sought and obtained free Yankees tickets for the 2009 World Series and then may have lied about his intention to pay for them, according to a state report.

He faces penalties of nearly $100,000, and the case was referred to the Albany County prosecutor's office and the state attorney general for possible criminal investigation into whether Paterson or anyone else gave false answers to questions by the Public Integrity Commission or backdated a check to pay for the tickets.

"The drum beat is awfully loud right now and not getting quieter," Lee Miringoff of the Marist College poll said Wednesday. He noted that the Yankees tickets case is clearer, and therefore potentially more of a threat to Paterson's job.

The ethics charge isn't directly related to the scandal over the aide. But the panel said the aide, David Johnson, was one of Paterson's four guests, along with Paterson's son and a son's friend, getting tickets for the Oct. 28 World Series game provided by the Yankees.

Four days later, also in the Bronx, Johnson was accused of domestic violence by his then-girlfriend, a case that now threatens Paterson's job and administration.

But the ticket scandal may ultimately be more damaging to the governor, especially given the timing.

"I, at all times, upheld the oath of my office and never at any point attempted to influence or coerce anyone to do anything they didn't want to do," Paterson told reporters Wednesday, saying he intends to fight the ethics charge.

Paterson told investigators that he always intended to pay the $850 for tickets for his son and the son's friend. They were paid for with a postdated check, and the governor paid for them only when confronted by a reporter for The New York Post, the report said.

In the other case, the office of state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether Paterson or anyone from his staff or security detail influenced the woman's decision not to press charges after she told police that Johnson roughed her up.

"My side of the story will not be unsourced, it will not be in inaccurate, it will be the truth," Paterson said Wednesday, taking a swipe at some media reports.

The governor's chief of staff, Lawrence Schwartz, said Paterson was meeting with legislative leaders and staff Wednesday and that the fiscal crisis is Paterson's top priority. Paterson has no public events scheduled for Thursday.

"The governor is the governor," Schwartz said. "He's in charge."

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Ula Ilnytzky and Colleen Long in New York and Valerie Bauman in Albany.

Corbitt's boss, Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Denise O'Donnell, resigned a week ago. She said direct contact by the governor and troopers with the woman was "unacceptable" regardless of their intent.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Hours after the most damaging press reports yet surfaced in a scandal that threatens his administration, Gov. David Paterson struck back with a schedule of high-level budget negotiations to underscore his authority and a steady parade of supporters in front of reporters -- while hinting he will soon tell his side of the story.

State Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs drove from Long Island on Tuesday to meet in the governor's mansion with Paterson and later said Paterson's account of his supposed intervention, along with the state police and staff members, in a domestic violence case involving a top aide "explains an awful lot." He declined to divulge details.

"I did not get the sense that the governor is considering resignation, that resignation is pending," said Jacobs, a longtime friend of Paterson's, hand-picked for the Democratic Party post. "There shouldn't be any more shoes to drop. The sense I got from him is there won't be."

Paterson left a closed-door meeting with staff late Tuesday afternoon and declined to comment except to say he doesn't plan to quit and didn't even feel pressure to resign, despite widespread speculation in the Capitol. A driver passing by the mansion honked and shouted to reporters, "Get him out of there!"

Minutes before Jacobs spoke, powerful Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver left a lunch meeting with Paterson at the mansion and told reporters: "I don't feel he should resign."

The support for the Democratic governor came the same day The New York Times reported that Paterson and two employees he directed talked to a woman who had accused a top Paterson aide of roughing her up on Halloween, choking her and throwing her against a mirror. The woman ultimately dropped the case against the aide, David Johnson, shortly after speaking to the governor, his two employees and members of Paterson's state police security detail.

The report outraged the state chapter of the National Organization for Women, which called for his resignation early Tuesday despite his "excellent" policy record on women's issues.

"It is inappropriate for the governor to have any contact or to direct anyone to contact an alleged victim of violence," said Marcia Pappas, president of NOW New York State. "This latest news is very disappointing for those of us who believed the governor was a strong advocate for women's equality and for ending violence against women."

"It is now time for the governor to step down," she said in the written statement.

Even Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, whom Paterson appointed to the seat last year, said Tuesday that he would have to resign if allegations that he abused his power are proven true.

But as the day progressed, Paterson started collecting rare support, too, unseen in more than three weeks of scandal that forced him to end his campaign for a full term on Friday.

Five Latino legislators, all Democrats, met with Paterson about budget appropriations and the needs of their communities, then approached reporters waiting outside the mansion.

"No one has criticized the governor more than I have," said Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx. "Right now, we are supporting the governor to stay until the investigation is resolved."

Paterson said he would soon speak publicly.

"Clearly the governor, the image that he wants to project is that he's engaged and he's working, he's working with the Legislature and he's doing the people's business," said politics professor Doug Muzzio of Baruch College. "There's some sense from these folks that there is another side of the story and at least for the time being those of us that thought that resignation might be imminent, clearly we were wrong."

But, Muzzio cautioned: "We don't know how much of this is public relations and how much of it is real. We're in 'Alice in Wonderland,' and I don't know what's real. But clearly it seems as if the governor's had a better day than he's had recently."

Some leading Democrats, however, have said he should resign to avoid further damage to the party in the 2010 elections.

The scandal began on Halloween. Sherruna Booker told police she was roughed up in the Bronx by Paterson aide David Johnson, her boyfriend at the time, but she decided not to press charges. At issue is whether Paterson or anyone from his staff or security detail influenced her decision.

Paterson has acknowledged that he spoke with Booker but said she initiated the call and that he did not try to get her to change her story or not pursue a charge.

The New York Times on Tuesday provided new details on Paterson's involvement in the matter, reporting that the governor had personally directed two state employees to contact the woman.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo -- often mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate by the very critics dogging Paterson -- is investigating those contacts. Any criminal case will hinge on whether Paterson, staff members or state bodyguards tried to get Booker to change her story, making charges of witness tampering or obstructing justice possible.

Arriving at Irish American fundraiser in Manhattan, Cuomo said that he hadn't spoken to Paterson yet but that the governor's office had cooperated. He gave no timetable for completing the investigation.

"We will do the investigation as fast as we can, as fast as practical," Cuomo said. "We also want to do it right, we want to be thorough, we want to be fair, and we want to have all the facts."

When asked whether the turmoil would damage the Democratic Party, he said: "This is not about the party, this is about the people of the state." He did not say whether he thought the governor should resign.

Paul DerOhannesian, a former Albany County prosecutor, said the new revelations alone don't seal a case against Paterson or his administration.

"We don't know what was said, and that's very important," he said Tuesday. It's highly unusual for a victim to be contacted by state police when they have no jurisdiction in a Bronx case, or for Paterson and his employees to contact her, he said.

"The next question is, 'What was said?'" he said. "We don't know."

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Associated Press Writer Cristian Salazar contributed to this report from New York.