ALBANY — Gov. Paterson has hired the man who was responsible for “negative research” on then-presidential candidate Barack Obama to dig up dirt on Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is preparing to run for governor, The Post has learned.
Paterson’s campaign committee signed Maryland-based Judd Legum, research director for then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bitterly fought presidential primary campaign against Obama in 2008, to a five-week contract earlier this month, with the understanding that he would “prepare a research book on Cuomo” and other potential candidates for governor, said a prominent Democratic Party activist.
“Legum is the guy who did a lot of the opposition research work on Obama, and now Paterson’s people are outsourcing that kind of work on Cuomo to him,” said the source, who demanded anonymity.
Legum, a friend of Paterson campaign spokeswoman and strategist Tracy Sefl, is being paid about $25,000 for the project, it was learned.
Legum confirmed that he had been hired by Paterson’s campaign but, when asked to describe his job, insisted, “I really can’t talk about that now,” and hung up the phone.
Repeated attempts to reach Legum for additional comment were unsuccessful.
Sefl, who worked with Legum in the Clinton campaign, refused to say whether he had been hired to dig up dirt.
“I’m not going to comment on that,” she insisted.
Cuomo refused through a spokesman to comment on Legum’s hiring.
But a source close to Cuomo said, “With our state facing billions in deficits and thousands of job losses, it’s sad that the governor’s campaign is focusing on negative campaign tactics.”
Several Democratic insiders said they doubted Legum could find any new damaging facts on Cuomo, who has been heavily scrutinized for some three decades as an aide to his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, as federal housing secretary, as a 2002 candidate for governor, as a 2006 candidate for attorney general and, since 2007, as a statewide office holder.
Earlier this fall, Obama infuriated Paterson when he signaled that he wanted Cuomo to be the Democrats’ gubernatorial standard bearer next year. Paterson, however, has insisted he won’t get out of the race.