ALBANY — Gov. David Paterson spent the day telling Democrats why he won't resign from

office, as his administration was rocked later in the evening by the departure of another top

aide — the head of the State Police.

"I don't think that I've been accused of anything," Paterson told a handful of reporters as

he left the Capitol tonight when asked why he will not leave office.

The governor declined to comment on reports that he directed aides to reach out to a woman

who had accused one of his top confidantes, David Johnson, in a domestic violence episode last

Halloween. "That's part of the case," he said of the investigation underway by Attorney

General Andrew Cuomo.

"It's very difficult, because my instinct is to come and answer them. I really never shied

away from the media before and would love to answer these questions," he said.

"No comment," Paterson said when asked if he asked State Police Superintendent Harry

Corbitt to resign.

Corbitt, a Buffalo native, announced his retirement on an Albany television station, saying

the "pressure" on him and his family had become "unacceptable."

"I think that we'll move forward now and we will look to see who will be the best person to

lead the State Police," Paterson said.

Corbitt's sudden retirement came after Denise O'Donnell, a former top federal prosecutor

from Buffalo, resigned last week as the governor's criminal justice czar; she suggested she

had been lied to about the role of the State Police in contacting the alleged victim in the

domestic violence case.

The state legislature's two top Democrats went to the governor's mansion earlier today, but one

participant insisted there was no discussion with Paterson about resigning from office.

Despite legislative sources who said the meeting was an attempt to get Paterson to resign,

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said after the hour and half session that there was "no talk

of resigning."

"He is our governor," Silver said. "I do not feel he should resign. The investigation is

pending. No discussion should be had until that is complete."

Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson arrived with Silver shortly before noon

for the private meeting with Paterson following reports that the governor personally

interceded in an attempt to get a victim in a domestic violence case to drop her complaint

against one of Paterson's top aides.

State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs arrived at the mansion shortly after 1 p.m.

"There's no imperative for an decision immediately, one way or another," Jacobs said

before entering the mansion.

"I think it is serious," Jacobs said of the reports about Paterson's intercession in the

domestic abuse case. "There is no question that it presents a problem."

But Jacobs also said he "did not think it was fatal."

"The governor needs to answer to whether there are other possible damaging stories coming,"

he said.

Paterson, who a week ago insisted he had no knowledge of

alleged efforts to pressure a woman to drop an abuse case against one of his top advisers, had

two state officials reach out to the alleged victim to, in one case, ask her to downplay the

incident as nonviolent, a published report said Monday night.

In a potentially damaging revelation for a governor trying to hold on to his job, the New

York Times reported on its Web site that the governor personally directed two state officials,

including his press secretary, to reach out to the former girlfriend of David W. Johnson, the

top aide placed on suspension last week amid a scandal whose roots trace back to an alleged

domestic-violence incident last Halloween.

In one case, a source close to Paterson told The Buffalo News on Monday night, Marissa

Shorenstein, the governor's press secretary, tried to contact the alleged victim the day after

the woman missed a court date regarding the Johnson incident, which resulted in the case

against the top Paterson aide being dropped.

It was unclear what Shorenstein was attempting to tell the woman, but a Paterson source

said Monday night that it was not to pressure the woman; the two did not connect by telephone.

But the Times reported that the other state official, Deneane Brown, a housing agency

executive and friend of Paterson and the alleged victim, reached out to the woman before the

Feb. 8 court date.

The Times said Brown also arranged a phone call between Paterson and the alleged victim on

Super Bowl Sunday in which the governor asked whether the woman was all right. The case

against Johnson was dropped the next day when the Bronx woman, a longtime girlfriend of

Johnson, did not show up in court.

The newspaper reported the contacts as being the first evidence that Paterson "personally

directed" an effort to influence the accuser in the case against Johnson. The Times based its

story on unnamed sources. In one case, the Times reported, there was an effort to get the

woman to describe the incident involving Johnson as "nonviolent," despite her statements

otherwise to the New York City police.

The potentially damaging report came as Paterson spent part of the day trying to burnish

his role as chief executive. insisting that he will be in charge of the government for the

rest of the year with a busy agenda.

"I have the authority to govern," Paterson said Monday before an audience in Manhattan.

In his first public remarks since saying he would not run for a full term this year amid

the administration's latest scandal, Paterson dismissed talk that he might not be able to

serve out his term.

"I would think it's off the table. I don't even know why it's on the table," Paterson told

the Manhattan audience.

But if Paterson was looking for backup that all would be fine, it wasn't coming from his

second-in-command.

"I have no view on that, and if I did I wasn't going to express it," Lt. Gov. Richard

Ravitch said when asked in an interview whether he thought Paterson would be all right and not

have to quit early. Paterson had appointed Ravitch to the position last year.

Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch this morning said he has "no idea if Paterson is thinking about resigning.

"Im not aware of any compelling reason for him to resign at this point, Ravitch said after leaving a meeting on the governors floor at the Capitol. The two men had dinner Monday night, and he said the topic of the governor leaving office was never raised during their session together.

Ravitch declined comment on the latest reports of outreach by Paterson aides to an alleged victim of domestic violence, saying he had not read any newspapers yet today.

"I hope very much that he does not resign and thats all Ill say at this point, the lieutenant governor said.

Asked if he has made any preparations to become governor, Ravitch said, "No, Im not at all.

"I certainly have no interest at this point in my life in changing my role in any respect whatsoever, he added.

Ravitch on Monday sought to dismiss a push by some Democrats, as he went into a private meeting

with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, that he take control of the state budget

talks with legislators. "I'm not trying to take over anything," Ravitch said.

So went another muddled day in the Capitol, as Democrats fought back-and-forth over the

legitimacy of Paterson's authority — which will be largely decided in the weeks ahead

when State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who wants Paterson's job, releases findings from

an investigation into whether the governor or the State Police exerted pressure on the Bronx

woman not to proceed with a domestic-violence case against Johnson.

The Cuomo probe continued Monday and included interviews with State Police Superintendent

Harry J. Corbitt and New York City Police Department officials about the domestic-violence

report.

"Gov. Paterson should not resign at all. Why should he resign?" asked Senate Democratic

Conference Leader John L. Sampson of Brooklyn. "Why can't we just wait until the investigation

is done? In this country, I thought there was due process."

In Manhattan, Paterson said he felt he has been the "victim" of "hysteria" over the last

month, with the media reporting unsubstantiated rumors about his personal life. He declined to

discuss the investigation by the attorney general.

Paterson suggested he will be less restrained now that he is not running.

"Think about the world for the next 306 days where I can make decisions and I won't have to

hear a robotic response from the Legislature that he's doing this for politics, he's doing

this to get his poll numbers up, he's running against the Legislature because we're more

unpopular than he is," he said. "So, I won't have to hear that."

The scandal took another toll on the administration: State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt, a Buffalo native, announced his retirement Tuesday evening. The State Police is among agencies under investigation by Cuomo amid allegations a member of Paterson's security detail also had contact with the alleged victim.