D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown called a sudden news conference Tuesday afternoon following the D.C. Council session in which final approval was given to the city’s budget.
Brown said he does not plan to resign despite the federal investigation into his 2008 campaign for an at-large council seat.
“I don’t think I broke any laws in the 2008 campaign, and that’s all I’m going to say about the 2008 campaign,” he said.
Brown did not comment about the federal investigation, but he said he is concerned about the distraction the investigation has created.
“I apologize,” he said. “We shouldn’t have these distractions. Residents shouldn’t have to be focused on this on the news. They should be focused on what we’re doing with health care, what we’re doing with making sure our kids go to college, what we’re doing to get our small businesses back to work. Unfortunately we’re not doing that, and I take full responsibility for it.”
Earlier Tuesday, WTOP reporter Mark Segraves said Brown shoved him with a forearm when he tried to ask the council chair some questions about the investigation. Brown later admitted there had been an incident but he hadn’t done anything maliciously. He said he apologized to the reporter.
