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."

(Photo: Getty)

Although the New York Post ran a front-page story today reporting that Governor Andrew Cuomo is seriously considering a coup d'etat against influential Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, the governor himself is denying any such scheme exists.

"It is wholly up to the legislative bodies to select a leader," Mr. Cuomo said on The Capitol Pressroom this morning. “I would never, even for a moment, try to influence that decision."

The report, which is already subject to some rivalry between the Post and the New York Daily News, further claimed that Mr. Cuomo's motivation for the ousting came from last week's high-profile corruption scandals. But Mr. Cuomo said today that he didn't even view the main scandal as an Albany problem.

"In terms of Speaker Silver, remember again the context. First of all, this is basically--the actions that have been revealed, the majority of the actions and the players--it was about a New York City mayoral scandal," he argued. "It was not an Albany scandal; I know we now use 'Albany' as sort of a broad brush to mean all electoral and campaign issues, but it was primarily about New York City."

The Capitol Pressroom's host, Susan Arbetter, pointed out that two of those involved, Assemblymen Nelson Castro and Eric Stevenson, were allegedly involved in a bribery plot that involved drafting legislation in the State Assembly, but Mr. Cuomo insisted that Mr. Silver could not be held at fault for that incident either.

"Then you had two assemblymen, who were relative newcomers to the Assembly I might add," he explained. "These are people who knew the law, they knew they spoke about violating the law and they knew people went to jail for it. And these people, as individuals, decided to break the law; that's what they did. And now they're going to be punished. So I don't know what culpability you could place on anyone but those individuals."

Mr. Cuomo went on to tout his recent budget negotiations with the State Legislature and said things have been "going well" with Mr. Silver.

David Paterson

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Politicker ran into former Governor David Paterson while he was working the room inside the CNN Grill at the DNC Wednesday and we asked him about all of the drama that surrounded the New York delegation at the convention. Mr. Paterson heaped praise upon Mr. Cuomo and the delegation's leader, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and he had harsh words for one of their critics,bat-wielding 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino.

"Carl Paladino should take that bat and hit himself in the head with it, it would do us all a favor," said Mr. Paterson.

Governor Andrew Cuomo arrived at the DNC yesterday after some confusion and speculation surrounding when and if he would make a convention appearance. Mr. Paterson said the Governor's decision not to reveal his convention plans earlier and to keep a low-profile at the DNC was part of a "brilliant strategy" of media avoidance that could propel Mr. Cuomo to higher office.

"I think that Governor Cuomo has learned a lesson from Governor Spitzer and myself, who showed up everywhere and were so transparent that it was self-destructive at times," Mr. Paterson said. "I think Governor Cuomo tries to be open, transparent and give out information, but he doesn't try to be part of the daily blog, 24 hour news cycle. And I think it's a brilliant strategy that might land him in the White House one day."

Mr. Paterson added that he doubted the recent drama in Albany, where Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is facing an investigation by a federal special prosecutor because he authorized $103,000 in public funds to be used for a settlement with one of the women who accused Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment.

"There's an investigation and the Governor knew about that. ... He's got nothing to do with that, he's made his feelings felt on the issue and he, unlike a lot of others who rush to judgement, very responsibly said, "Let's let the investigation tell us," said Mr. Paterson.

Since Mr. Paterson brought up the investigation, we asked him about an email regarding the settlement scandal that was sent out by the man who unsuccessfully ran to replace him in 2010, Carl Paladino. In his email, which was sent Wednesday morning, Mr. Paladino accused the press of being "spineless cowards" and said a special prosecutor was appointed because Albany politicians want "to bury" the issue.

"The press should be asking if it was quiet money to keep Vito's mouth shut about other topics? We'll probably never know the answer to that because the press will let the good old Albany establishment boys bury the issue with a Special Prosecutor investigation that will go on forever and result in nothing. Whenever politicians want to bury an issue they appoint a Special Committee or Prosecutor," Mr. Paladino wrote.

Mr. Paterson angrily dismissed Mr. Paladino's theory about the special prosecutor's investigation.

"Carl Paladino should take that bat and hit himself in the head with it. It would do us all a favor, because the federal prosecutor was because the King's County D.A. had a relationship with Vito Lopez," Mr. Paterson said. "If he had tried to prosecute that case, Carl Paladino would be the first to say, 'This is corruption.' So, Carl, shut up."

We also asked Mr. Paterson his take on the situation with Mr. Silver. He said the Assembly Speaker had earned his admiration by admitting he shouldn't have authorized the settlement without making it public.

"I did think he did something wrong. He should have publicized the settlement and he has admitted such, which gains a lot of my respect," said Mr. Paterson.

Sheldon Silver (Photo: Getty)

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Last night, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was cut off as he was giving a lengthy speech delivering the New York delegation's votes at the Democratic National Convention. This morning, Politicker asked Mr. Silver how it felt to have his speech cut short when we saw him at the New York delegation breakfast.

"I wasn't expecting that and, you know, we're a big state, we have a lot of votes and there's a lot to say," Mr. Silver said.

We queried Mr. Silver about what he was hoping to add had he been allowed to continue. He implied he was nearly done when his speech was aborted.

"Well, I added everything, basically our vote," he said.

The interruption of Mr. Silver's speech wasn't the only potential slight to the New York delegation, which was seated all the way in back of the convention floor. Mr. Silver said it was simply New York's turn to end up in the nosebleeds.

"What can I tell you? I mean, it's a big convention, somebody's got to sit in the back and we got that this year," he said.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's office is not impressed with James O'Keefe's latest hidden camera video. Mr. O'Keefe, a controversial conservative activist, posed as an executive with a do-nothing company in the clip and met with a pair of union officials in New York asking whether they could use their political connections to help him secure environmental grants for simply digging and re-filling holes in the dirt. The men Mr. O'Keefe spoke to, John Hutchings of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, former assemblyman Ronald Tocci and Mr. Tocci's brother, Anthony Tocci, describe how they have lobbyists who help them "push our agenda through." They specifically name several elected officials they claim are friendly to them; Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressmen Eliot Engel and Jerry Nadler and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Mr. Silver's spokesman, Michael Whyland, told us Mr. O'Keefe's video shouldn't be treated as serious journalism.

"This is not reporting. This is not journalism. It doesn’t even rise to the level of a comic strip. This is the kind of stuff that gives honest reporters a bad name," Mr. Whyland said.

In the clip, Mr. Hutchings boasts about his ability to get things done in Albany.

“When we go for a bill, you know, you’ve got to get approval of the Senate, and the Assembly and then the Governor’s got to sign that. We have a lobbyist for the Senate [Republicans], and we have a lobbyist for the Democrats and that’s how we try to push our agenda through,” Mr. Hutchings says in the video.

Though he says he has a lobbyist who "takes care of" Mr. Silver's colleagues in the Assembly, he claims the Speaker approves funding, but doesn't get involved in the details of the projects that receive grants.

“Shelly Silver wouldn’t say specifically, ‘Fill the dirt there.’ He would have to approve a grant to do that type of stuff, then we’d have to find places where to dig,” Mr. Hutchings says. “He doesn’t want to get involved in picking, that’s where they get into trouble.”

Mr. O'Keefe became famous after his investigation into ACORN that resulted in organization losing federal funding. He has also targeted Planned Parenthood and NPR, among others. Mr. O'Keefe's videos have been criticized by those who say he uses manipulative editing techniques in the partisan ambush attacks. In 2010, he was arrested and accused of trying to hack into the phone lines in the office of Democratic Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.

James O'Keefe posing as a government contractor in his new video. (Photo: YouTube)

The latest video from controversial conservative provocateur James O'Keefe's "Project Veritas" implies unions and several big name New York politicians are colluding to earn state and federal contracts for do-nothing companies purporting to hire for so-called "environmental jobs."

In the clip, Mr. O'Keefe portrays an executive for a business that literally digs ditches and fills them back up with more dirt. He visits with John Hutchings, whom he describes as a "director" of the Laborers' International Union of North America, and former assemblyman Ronald Tocci and another man who apparently discuss how easy it is for them to use their lobbyists and political connections to get cash for businesses.

"When we go for a bill, you know, you've got to get approval of the Senate, and the Assembly and then the Governor's got to sign that. We have a lobbyist for the Senate [Republicans], and we have a lobbyist for the Democrats and that's how we try to push our agenda through," Mr. Hutchings says in the video. 

Mr. Hutchings specifically mentions Tom McMahon, Tom Harnet, who he says "usually takes care of" the Democrats in the Assembly and Powers & Company, who "take care of the Senate."

Mr. O'Keefe's is best known for releasing videos targeting ACORN that resulted in organization losing federal funding. His partisan ambush attack films have been criticized by his detractors and in 2010 he was arrested and accused of trying to hack into the phone lines in the office of Democratic Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.

In this clip, which has been heavily edited and features the pop hit "Call Me Maybe," Mr. O'Keefe and an accomplice painstakingly tell Mr. Hutchings their company does nothing but dig and re-fill ditches.

"You really have to dress up what we do, 'cause all we do is dig holes," Mr. O'Keefe says.

He goes on to ask if Mr. Hutchings knows "political office holders in New York... who can help us find those--basically excuses to get public funds."

Mr. Hutchings says New York's two senators will give them a friendly reception.

"We're good with Gillibrand and Schumer," Mr. Hutchings says.

Mr. Tocci suggests his former Assembly "colleagues" Congressmen Jerry Nadler and Eliot Engel.

"It's awful hard for anybody to vote against, like, a jobs bill right now," says Mr. Hutchings.

According to Mr. Hutchings, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver won't involved himself in picking the recipients of grants, but he does approve them.

"Shelly Silver wouldn't say specifically, 'Fill the dirt there.' He would have to approve a grant to do that type of stuff, then we'd have to find places where to dig," Mr. Hutchings says. "He doesn't want to get involved in picking, that's where they get into trouble."

Mr. Hutchings is dismissive of the Green Jobs, Green New York program as well as the NYSERDA grant system, but thinks there's a positive aspect as long as people are being hired.

"You know, the Green Jobs Green New York, between us, a lot of it's bullshit," Mr. Hutchings says. "Even if it's bullshit, I think as long as people are working that's not bullshit."

Watch Mr. O'Keefe's edited nearly nine minute version of the video below. He also posted nearly one hour of "raw footage" here.

Governor Andrew Cuomo

"This state government has come a very long way in a very short period of time. At one time, this state government was a joke. They were literally laughing about it on the late night shows, it was a point of ridicule for many, many years," Governor Cuomo said. "We went from a model of dysfunction to I believe a model of function."

Mr. Silver praised the governor for his leadership and said several elements of the budget plan represented the fulfillment of the promise to "rebuild the ladder to financial security long relied on by working families" in a speech before Governor Cuomo's State of the State address in January. Specifically, Mr. Silver cited increased funding for public education and community colleges, a mortgage foreclosure program, clinics for immigrants, funding for EPIC and affordable housing programs as examples of components of the budget that will help working families. Turning to Mr. Skelos and the governor, Mr. Silver described the budget as a meeting of the minds between the leadership in Albany.

"We have been able to mesh our thoughts with your thoughts and we produced what I think is a great document here," Mr. Silver said.

Mr. Skelos expanded on Mr. Silver's remarks to highlight the bipartisan cooperation on the budget. He also praised the lack of tax or fee increases and an "emphasis on private sector job creation."

"He talked about meshing things together. In the past, it used to be messing things together, but now we are functioning in a very positive way," Mr. Skelos said. "This truly is historic that we've passed two budgets in a row, not just on time, but early, in the daylight, and we are doing this without raising taxes or fees and there is an emphasis on private sector job creation."

When it was his turn to speak, Governor Cuomo touted several of his preferred initiatives included in the budget, teacher evaluations, pension reform and mandate relief. Overall, Governor Cuomo described the budget as "an example of fiscal discipline and fiscal integrity."

"This is not a Democratic budget or a Republican budget, this is a budget that put the needs of New Yorkers first," Governor Cuomo said. "I'm proud to be part of this government today."

As he started his remarks, Governor Cuomo accidentally referred to Mr. Skelos as the "minority leader." In a Q&A session after he spoke, Daily News reporter Ken Lovett asked the governor if he really would prefer having the Republicans as a minority in the senate. Governor Cuomo said he'd prefer to save partisan concerns for after the legislative session.

"One of the things that has worked for us is, we've kept the politics on the side and we've done government work," Governor Cuomo said. "We'll continue to do that."

In another question Mr. Lovett also noted Governor Pataki was "hailed" for cutting spending during his administration. Governor Cuomo said that must mean Mr. Lovett was ready give "multiple hails" to his budget as well.

"Thank you very much, I thank you for your endorsement. It was very nice of you to hail our accomplishment," Governor Cuomo said.

Roberto Saladin (Photo: White House/Lawrence Jackson)

Dominican Ambassador Roberto Saladin has thrown his support behind the push to create a new predominantly Latino Congressional district in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx.  Mr. Saladin sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo last Tuesday describing the creation of the district as a "question of utmost importance" for the Dominican Diaspora that would "open the opportunity to elect a Congressman of Dominican origin to the U.S. Congress in Washington D.C."

In addition to his letter to Governor Cuomo, Mr. Saladin, who is the Dominican Republic's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, held meetings with the governor, State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver where he expressed his support for the district during a visit to Albany earlier this month where he attended a ceremony where the State Senate proclaimed February Dominican Heritage Month in New York.

The resolution proclaiming Dominican Heritage Month was proposed by State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who accompanied Mr. Saladin during his meeting with Governor Cuomo. Mr. Espaillat is considering running for the seat in the predominantly Latino district if it is created. If elected, he would be the first Dominican member of the House of Representatives.

Along with the questions surrounding Congressman Charlie Rangel's district in Harlem, the issue of the Latino district is one of the reasons proposals for Congressional lines have yet to be released as part of the redistricting process that occurs in New York each decade. On Sunday, elected officials from Northern Manhattan including Mr. Espaillat, Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, Councilman Robert Jackson and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez held a march from Inwood to the Bronx calling for the creation of the Latino district.

Read Ambassador Saladin's full letter to Governor Cuomo below.

Update (3/1/12 6:55 pm): The original version referred to Mr. Saladin as the Dominican Ambassador to the United States, a position he held from 2009 until 2011. This story was updated with his current title, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. Anibal de Castro, the current Ambassador to the United States, issued a statement of his own March 1 disavowing Mr. Saladin's letter. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo (Photo: Getty)

Governor Andrew Cuomo discussed his relationship with the leaders of the Legislature; Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, during an appearance on Susan Arbetter's radio show, Capitol Pressroom, this afternoon.

"People don't understand the relationship between a governor and the legislature, or people just have a different lens for the relationship. The relationship is not based on love," Governor Cuomo said. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day, it's not about chocolates, and candies and love. It is a functional, collegial relationship and there are different jobs between the governor and the Legislature."

Governor Cuomo has often repeated the narrative he and Albany lawmakers reached new levels of cooperation last year, his first in office.

"By all accounts, last year was a tremendous success. There are many reasons why, including one simple one: We changed our attitude,” Governor Cuomo said in his State of the State address last month. “By the end of the year, we were not first Democrats and Republicans, we were first New Yorkers and we acted that way."

Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver have echoed the idea the governor and the Legislature are getting along better than ever.

“Governor, you’ve been a leader, an innovator and a friend, and we thank you for that,” Senator Skelos when he introduced the governor at the State of the State. “We have reached across the divides of partisanship to meet daunting challenges without delays and without excuses. Together, we threw away the playbook for Albany’s gridlock and dysfunction.”

On the radio today, Governor Cuomo clarified things.Though he described his work with the Legislature as "respectful" and "cordial," he said many of the initiatives they undertook last year were hard fought.

"We have a functioning relationship, we have a respectful relationship, we have a cordial relationship, but many of the things I am trying to get done are difficult for them to do, he said. "You know, we have this romanticized version of last year. There was no love and kumbaya last year. These were very difficult choices you know--I want ethics reform or I will do a Moreland Commission, which was very difficult, an investigatory commission on the Legislature. I want the budget passed on time or I will take you to court. It wasn't about love, it was about choices, and options and tensions."

Though he doesn't want the public thinking he has it easy working with the Legislature, Governor Cuomo made it clear he doesn't see the current lack of love in Albany as a problem.

"Tension can be functional or it can be dysfunctional. For many years it was dysfunctional, last year it was functional. I believe it's functional this year also, but I would not be doing my job and they would not be doing their job if everyone just said, 'O.K., just let's do whatever the other guy wants and forget my institutional role. That's not why you have a Legislature, it's not why you have an executive."

Rather than getting too cozy with the Legislature, Governor Cuomo sees his job as controlling the level of tension in Albany.

"I'm in the tension management business at the end of the day," he said.

In addition to his philosophical take on power dynamics in the State Capitol, Governor Cuomo also updated Ms. Arbetter on his push to institute teacher evaluations, which has caused controversy among teacher's unions.

"I can change the budget up until Thursday," Governor Cuomo said. "What I've said to the State Education Department, which has been spending about two years trying to negotiate a statewide evaluation system with teacher's unions, 'If you don't have it done by the time I amend the budget, I'll put in my own evaluation system. ... I'm still hopeful that they will get there. In the meantime, I'm working on my own evaluation system that I will put in on Thursday in the event that the State Education Department and unions are still unable to, but I'm an optimist."

Governor Cuomo said his evaluation plan would be "more straightforward" than the current system.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Getty)

Governor Cuomo signed the Iran Divestment Act today. The new law, which was passed by the State Legislature Tuesday, will bar businesses from signing or renewing state or local government contracts if they provide goods, services or credit worth $20 million or more to Iran’s energy sector. It was backed by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"This new law ensures that companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector do not do business with the State of New York," Governor Cuomo said in a statement announcing the law's passage. "I thank Majority Leader Skelos and Speaker Silver for their leadership and hard work on this important law."

Both Senator Skelos and Speaker Silver also released statements praising the new law.

"By putting in place this important legislation, we are standing together to denounce Iran's attempt to build nuclear weapons that would pose a grave threat to America, Israel, and our other friends in the Middle East," Senator Skelos said. "I thank Governor Cuomo for signing this bill into law."

Speaker Silver said the law signifies New York is doing its part to "make the world a safer, more secure place."

"It is no secret that Iran is the patron of terrorism in the Middle East. This tyrannical regime has been linked to terrorist activities ranging from assassinations and hostage taking to bombings and hijackings directed against Israel and the West," Speaker Silver said.

The Iran Divestment Act was modeled after similar legislation in California.