Who Is Judge Judith S. Kaye?

MYFOXNY.COM - Retired Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye is stepping into the role of investigator in the alleged ethics violation case against NY Governor David Paterson. A panel of political experts, an attorney and a columnist weighed in on the selection during Good Day NY on Friday.

NY Post Columnist Robert George, New York State GOP Chairman Ed Cox, Attorney James Kousouros and Democratic Strategist Hank Sheinkcopf joined Good Day NY Co-host Greg Kelly to discuss the decision by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to recuse himself from the investigation.

Bio: CHIEF JUDGE JUDITH S. KAYE (retired)

Kousouros: I've argued two cases in front of Judge Kaye.  She is one of the finest jurists I have ever argued in front of.

Kelly: She has a very good reputation.

Kousouros: Absolutely.

Kelly: I can't even remember the last time I've seen in recent weeks Andrew Cuomo on camera taking questions from reporters.

Hank: He's (Cuomo) much more concentrated on getting the job done. He's independent and he wants to be out of that controversy.

Kelly: Republicans are lining up to run in the general election in September.

Cox: There is Rick Lazio.  There is a potential for a Democrat to come over.  I think you're going to see more candidates (Republicans) coming out to run for the senate, assembly.

George: Since she's (Judge Kaye) retied she's become a long time fixer.  The Working Families Party hired her to bless their questionable legal activites.  Cuomo is passing off this hot potato to her.

Kelly: She was appointed by somebody named Cuomo (former NY Governor Mario Cuomo) in the early 1990s. If he's really worried about a conflict maybe he should have picked someone else.

Kousouros: The fact that Cuomo's father appointed her has no bearing on the appearance of impropriety.

Sheinkcopf:  Last I looked, Joe Bruno was not a Democrat. Number two, the man cleaning up the comptroller's office is not a Republican. The smart politician, every now and then, bypasses public opinion.

Cox: You've got investigations: an unelected comptroller because of financial corruption; unelected Democratic governor because of moral corruption; an investigation of the senate majority leader and an investigation of the Democratic president of the senate.

Kelly: I've heard a lot about the culture of corruption in Albany.

George: There is a lot, but right now the focus is on Democrats. It's centered primarily on them.

Cox: We asked for Andrew Cuomo to do this two weeks ago.

Sheinkcopf:  He had no choice. The governor made the appointment of special prosecutor. Cuomo did the smart thing.

George: When he accepted it, Paterson was still in the race. Paterson is no longer in the race so Cuomo decides to step down.

Kelly: Who will be nominee?

Cox: I'm not going to predict the nominee. I'm going to remain neutral. We'll have strong candidates. We'll win back the majority.