Brooklyn assemblyman and accused sexual harasser Vito Lopez will not go quietly into the night. In an all-caps statement released Tuesday night (the sight of which we will spare you), Lopez wrote: “In the last 10 days, there have been a series of allegations that are politically motivated, as well as unethical leaks about confidential agreements, and statements with the principle motive of destroying my credibility and election options.” Perhaps the secondary or tertiary motive is revealing his alleged sexual abuse of women in his office. Lopez didn’t mention Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver or anyone by name in his letter. Silver said on Monday that he’d called on the assemblyman to step down from his seat. “I believe the people should decide who should represent them,” Lopez wrote. “I will not capitulate to those self-serving tactics and demands. Let the constituents of the 53rd Assembly District decide who their representative is.”
