Now that the incredibly creepy sexual harassment allegations against New York State Assemblyman Vito Lopez have been made public, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver can’t exactly sit by and do nothing — even if that’s what he reportedly did while the alleged abuse was going on. On Thursday night, Silver said he plans to recommend sanctions against Lopez, “including expulsion.” (The New York Times points out that the Assembly hasn’t expelled anyone since it drunkenly voted to get rid of a group of socialists in the twenties.)
A report from the Joint Commission on Public Ethics found Silver and his staff had failed to investigate Lopez when the sexual harassment allegations first arose, a violation of the Assembly’s rules. So, now that Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling on the Assembly to expel Lopez if he doesn’t resign, Silver is leading the charge to force him out. With that kind of enmity — and a general sense in the Assembly that he’s a sleazebag — this term will likely prove pretty short for Lopez.
