Livewire

Powerful NY Assembly Speaker Resigns Post As He Faces Corruption Charges

01.31.15 | 12:57 pm

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver leaves his office at the Capitol building in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. Silver, the longtime leader of the New York state Assembly, agreed to give up the position he has ... Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver leaves his office at the Capitol building in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. Silver, the longtime leader of the New York state Assembly, agreed to give up the position he has held for 21 years in the wake of federal corruption charges, a top lawmaker announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/The Daily Gazette, Patrick Dodson) MORE LESS

Longtime New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) announced his resignation from his leadership post Friday as other top Democrats jockeyed for the job in the wake of Silver’s arrest on federal corruption charges.

Silver filed a letter with the Assembly clerk making his resignation effective Tuesday, his spokesman Michael Whyland told the Associated Press. He has held the speaker’s post since 1994.

Democratic lawmakers said earlier this week that they planned to install an interim replacement for Silver on Monday. An election to fill the speaker’s post was planned for Feb. 10.

Still, Silver intends to keep his seat in the legislature as he battles a five-count criminal complaint alleging that he abused his power to to obtain $4 million in kickbacks and bribes disguised as income.

Send Tips

Catherine Thompson Catherine Thompson is a writer covering systems of power, gender, and politics. She previously served as an editor at the Cut, Business Insider, and Talking Points Memo.

Powerful NY Assembly Speaker Resigns Post As He Faces Corruption Charges

Notable Replies

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Participants