Smith Gets Restraining Order Stopping Espada (For Now)

The craziness in Albany continues, even after hours! According to the Times Union, "Senate Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith obtaining a temporary restraining order stopping breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada from utilizing any of the powers of the chamber's President Pro Tem -- a title that Espada claimed Monday after the tumultuous coup that returned Republicans to power. Smith's legal relief, however, may be short-lived: A state Supreme Court judge will hear arguments from both sides in the four-day-old battle for the Senate on Friday morning." You can read the ruling here; the Daily Politics hears the GOP spin, "The Senate Republicans are playing this down, saying all it means Espada can't be acting governor if something happens to Paterson or he leaves the state between now and 9 a.m. tomorrow, when there is hearing in the Supreme Court of Albany County on Smith's request for a declaratory order and injunctive relief, which would basically be a legal ruling proclaiming him - not Skelos - the majority leader."