New York Post.

Headline of the Day: "Sheldon-come-lately"

Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver‘s late-night call to expel disgraced Assemblymen Vito Lopez from office hasn't helped to temper calls for his head. But most Democratic leaders seem unlikely to push for disciplinary action against the speaker. Gov. Andrew Cu0mo told reporters yesterday he didn't think it was his place "to say who the speaker is and who the speaker should be." He added: “I don’t see any comparison between what Vito Lopez and what Shelly Silver did ... There is a magnitude of difference.”

On an unrelated note, the governor seems to be raking in the green. His most recent finance disclosure statement, made public Thursday, shows he made between $1.75 million and $2 million. The bulk of his assets are reportedly managed by a blind trust at AMG National Trust Bank.

NBC 4 New York spotted Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin filming what appeared to be a campaign-style video yesterday on the stoop of Mr. Weiner’s childhood Park Slope home--the same place he kicked off his 2005 campaign. Sources told the Daily News Mr.Weiner is planning to launch his candidacy in a video instead of in person to avoid the potential embarrassment of hecklers. "A video is an easy, focused and safe option, opposed to an event rollout where not every single thing can be controlled," said one former aide.

Meanwhile, the Weiners' finances are coming under added scrutiny. Politico reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created a special arrangement for Ms. Abedin that allowed her to do private consulting work for clients while serving as a top adviser to the State Department—an arrangement that Ms. Abedin failed to report in disclosure statements.

Endorsement season is underway, but some are choosing to sit out the game. Manhattan Democratic Party leaders decided last night not to endorse any candidate in the race to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to the Daily News. Party Chair Keith Wright told the paper the move was not intended as a slight against either City Council Speaker Christie Quinn or former Comptroller Bill Thompson, who both live in the borough. "We thought it wise that we do not endorse as a county because a lot of our clubs throughout the borough have already decided to endorse candidates," he reportedly said. The group is also choosing to stay out of the public advocate and borough president races.

If you're one of those people still lamenting the mayoral choices: Take solace. It could be worse. Gawker reported last night that it had viewed a video allegedly showing Toronto's Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. The video is being shopped around by a group of Somali drug dealers looking for a six figure payout, according to the Toronto Star.

Meanwhile, State Senator Eric Adams, one of the lawmakers secretly recorded by ex-State Sen. Shirley Huntley, is trying to clear his name as he soldiers on with his campaign for Brooklyn borough president. “There’s nothing on those tapes that’s detrimental to me. Nothing. Nothing,” he told the Brooklyn Young Democrats earlier this week, warning scheming colleagues to steer clear. “If you come and talk to me about breaking the law, you’re gonna find my handcuffs," he said. "I’m not here to break the law. I’m here to serve the people of the state and I’m consistent about that.” See the rest of his remarks here:

Speaker Sheldon Silver. (Photo: Getty)

Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver's office released a statement late Thursday suggesting for the first time that disgraced Assemblyman Vito Lopez could be expelled from office following the damning Joint Commission on Public Ethics report.

Per the statement, Mr. Silver intends to introduce a resolution tomorrow asking the Assembly's Ethics & Guidance Committee to "recommend appropriate sanctions including expulsion" against Mr. Lopez following the report, which detailed what City Council Speaker Christine Quinn described as "nauseating" conduct with young female staffers.

Mr. Silver has also come under intense scrutiny for his apparent efforts to shield Mr. Lopez from the fallout, and admits he made mistakes. Mr. Lopez maintains he has been unfairly attacked.

Here's the full statement from Mr. Silver's press secretary:

"Speaker Silver intends to draft and introduce a resolution tomorrow, to be voted on Monday, to ask the Ethics & Guidance Committee to consider the full JCOPE report and to recommend appropriate sanctions including expulsion of Assemblymember Lopez. Given that an exhaustive investigation has already occurred by two public agencies, he expects the committee to be able to act quickly and to bring this matter back to the full Assembly with its recommendations for prompt resolution."

Vito Lopez. (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Assemblyman Vito Lopez is not happy with today's state ethics commission's report detailing the sexual harassment allegations that former staff members have lodged against him. Accordingly, Mr. Lopez blasted both the report's process and its findings in a lengthy, 3-page statement released this afternoon.

"Salacious and sensational claims in the JCOPE report are fallacious," Mr. Lopez said, referring to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics and writing in third-person perspective. "These claims, including that he made sexual references to a 14 year old intern and 'opined that statutory rape laws should not exist', are simply not true."

Mr. Lopez, marveling at the breadth of the accusations while lamenting his inability to question the witnesses, concluded by stating that the allegations are part of an "all out war against an ailing senior member," based in the politics--perhaps his potential City Council run and or the enemies he made as the former chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.

"There is an all out war against an ailing senior member. One must wonder why the actions in this matter were addressed without due process," he said. "Mr. Lopez looks forward to a hearing where all the facts are openly discussed and reviewed. Assemblyman Lopez continues to maintain his innocence and understands the political agenda involved in the one-sided nature of the findings."

View the embattled assemblyman's full statement below:

Vito Lopez. (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Although Assemblyman Vito Lopez was cleared of criminal charges today, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics still found plenty to to dislike about him in a revealing report that concluded that Mr. Lopez fostered a shockingly sordid work environment in clear violation of official standards of conduct.

In the scathing 68-page report, Mr. Lopez--who was stripped of his powerful committee chairmanship and his position atop the Brooklyn Democratic Party after sexual harassment allegations first surfaced last year---engaged in such acts as hanging mistletoe in his district office and forcibly kissing a staffer, shoving his hand "all the way up" the inner thigh of another staffer and more. Mr. Lopez has insisted he's done nothing wrong.

With minimal paraphrasing, Politicker has compiled some of the most shocking findings detailed in the JCOPE report:

1. The Pink Eye Incident

One female Lopez staffer described her interactions with her boss as something like a "domestic abuse relationship" in which one "can't leave." In a text message exchange, this staffer, referred to in the report as Employee 2, told another staffer, Employee 3, that Lopez had asked why she didn't wear mini skirts and Employee 3 replied, "Oh my god! That's sexual harassment!!!!  WTF!!!!!!." In June of 2011, Employee 2 would contract pink eye after assenting to place eye drops in Mr. Lopez's infected eyes.

2. The Staring Contest

At a Brooklyn bar one evening, Mr. Lopez grabbed the hand of a staffer across the table. When she tried to pull away, he tightened his grip and when she began to cry, Mr. Lopez told her he would release his grip only after she counted to sixty. He did this while staring at her the entire time.

3. Disregarding Past Abuse

When a staffer told Mr. Lopez that she was a victim of a sexual assault in college and that his behavior was particularly upsetting to her, Mr. Lopez brought her head towards him, kissed her forehead and asked if she "felt guilty" about the attack. Lopez then asked her to massage his hand. As she massaged his hand, she began to cry and Mr. Lopez told her, "I like that you're holding my hand." She cried harder and Mr. Lopez eventually told her to stop massaging his hand.

4. The Cuddling Proposal

After the hand massage ended, Mr. Lopez said the staffer would have to "cuddle" with him in his Albany apartment. When the staffer resisted, Mr. Lopez threatened to terminate her, telling her that this would be her last trip to Albany.

5. Christmastime

Mr. Lopez announced to his office that he wanted to hang mistletoe over a staffer's desk and give her a kiss. When the staffer suggested he show affection toward his girlfriend instead, Mr. Lopez grew angry and told the staffer not to mention his girlfriend again. Mr. Lopez called the employee "uptight" and on other occasions told her she "must be a lesbian."

6. Legislative Rewards

Mr. Lopez once asked a staffer if she would kiss him if the Assembly passed a piece of legislation they had worked on. While the staffer said she would kiss him on the cheek, Mr. Lopez insisted on a kiss on the lips. The staffer refused. This same staffer also claimed Mr. Lopez asked her if she would accompany him on a trip to Russia and sleep in the same bed with him. When the staffer told Mr. Lopez she would not go on the trip under those conditions, Lopez passed her a note that read: “One drinking partner, one train car, one bed – yes or no?” When staffer said “no” for a second time, Lopez became angry, ripped up the note, and left.

7. The Jagged Fingernail

During the car ride home, a staffer said that Mr. Lopez once again put his hand between her legs on her inner thigh. She squeezed her legs together in an effort to prevent him from touching her and was scratched by one of Mr. Lopez’s jagged fingernails.

8. Just The Cheek

As dinner time was nearing one evening, Lopez suggested he and a staffer freshen up in a hotel room.  The staffer reluctantly agreed. Once in the room, she stated that Lopez grabbed her face and tried to kiss her. She repeatedly asked Mr. Lopez, “What are you doing,” and “fought him off.” Mr. Lopez tried to justify his conduct by telling her that he was only trying to kiss her on the cheek.

9. A Long Drive

A staffer once said she thought Mr. Lopez was too drunk to drive, but he insisted on doing so anyway. On the drive home, Mr. Lopez again requested a massage for his right hand. She said she complied because she was worried that Lopez might fall asleep while driving and she thought the massage would keep him awake. He used this opportunity to repeatedly force his right hand between her legs, at one point touching her underwear.

10. All The Way Up

At a Long Island restaurant, Mr. Lopez told the same staffer who had massaged his hand to do it again. This time, Mr. Lopez placed his hands on the staffer's legs which she kept tightly crossed. Mr. Lopez pried her legs open and forced his hand between her legs and high up her inner thigh--in the words of the staffer: "all the way up."

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell.

Maxwell Eliot Stringer (Photo: Manhattan Borough President's Office)

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