Silver Says He Will Be Cleared

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Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says he expects to be vindicated in an ethics probe into the $103,000 settlement he approved to end sexual harassment claims against a fellow Democrat.

Silver tells The Buffalo News on Tuesday that he believes the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics will find he acted in good faith to protect the victims. Silver approved a deal this summer that wasn't disclosed until further sexual harassment accusations were made against the assemblyman, Vito Lopez of Brooklyn.

Silver cooperated with the commission and recently was interviewed by the ethics board.

He says he won't approve any more secret deals. He said the victims wanted to keep the Lopez settlement private.

State Republican Chairman Ed Cox accused Silver of a cover-up.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press