D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said Wednesday that he will someday speak about a scheme that the U.S. attorney has said “deceived” District voters when Gray won the city’s top job in 2010.
“I don’t know if anybody’s anxious to be in a situation like this,” Gray said after a journalist asked if he looks forward to being able to discuss the long-running investigation into his campaign. “But obviously, we will get to that point.”
Last week, two Gray campaign aides pleaded guilty to charges related to a plot to pay a minor candidate to remain in the mayoral race and criticize incumbent Adrian Fenty, Gray’s chief opponent.
A long Memorial Day weekend, though, didn’t prompt Gray to expand on his recent comments about the nearly 16-month-old probe.
“I think what I’ve said… is what I’ll continue to say: This is a pending, ongoing investigation,” Gray said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to say anything at this stage.”
The mayor’s comments were nearly identical to remarks he made last week after federal prosecutors charged Howard Brooks and Thomas Gore with felonies for their roles in trying to cover up payments to Brown.
Gray has declined comment on the investigation in recent months, but he initially denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
Gray’s criminal defense lawyer, Robert Bennett, has also declined to comment.
The investigation into Gray’s campaign is continuing, and federal authorities have given no indication of when it will conclude.
“We continue our efforts to get to the bottom of what happened during the 2010 election,” U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen said in a written statement issued last week.
