A prominent Brooklyn Democrat Vito Lopez has been censured, stripped of his committee posts, and barred from employing young people after his colleagues determined he sexually harassed two female employees, the New York Times reports:
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, said that the Assembly’s ethics committee had unanimously found allegations of both verbal and physical harassment to be credible.
"There were multiple incidents of unwelcome physical conduct toward one complainant, wherein you put your hand on her leg, she removed your hand, and you then put your hand between her upper thighs, putting your hand as far up between her legs as you could go," Mr. Silver wrote, describing the committee’s findings.
He also said, "There was pervasive unwelcome verbal conduct by you toward both complainants from early June 2012 until the time they made complaints of sexual harassment in mid-July 2012, including repeated comments about their physical appearance, their bodies, their attire, and their private relationships."
He said that Mr. Lopez "required" one of the women to travel with him to Atlantic City last month, where he attempted to kiss her, and that "she struggled to fend you off before you stopped, and that on the drive back from Atlantic City you again put your hand between her legs."
Former President Bill Clinton's position on the controversy is unknown at this time.