Fumo Delivers Pre-Emptive Defense

A day before he’s expected to be indicted, state senator Vince Fumo has lobbed a pre-emptive strike at the feds. (Ahh… what a politician.) The speech took place on the Senate floor this afternoon.

Fumo explained how he’s innocent, the charges are trumped up, blah blah blah. You know how this works. He temporarily resigned from the minority chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, but says he’ll be back. The indictment is expected to focus on his dealings with Citizens’ Alliance for Better Neighborhoods and will most likely allege he used millions of the charity’s money for his own political and personal benefit.

So why hold a presser a day early? Easy: It lets you go first. But he also was able to, in a traditional political tactic, kinda sorta blame the media, saying he was subject to “threats, intimidation and frequent leaks to media… intended to embarrass me.”

Only one day until the official indictment, it seems. Huzzah!

Fumo: I Am Not Guilty of These Allegations [6 ABC]
“I know in my heart I have not done anything illegal” [Inquirer]