Cincinnati Enquirer | Sharon Coolidge
On the same morning Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced he’ll seek to suspend Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld after Sittenfeld’s arrest on federal bribery charges, Sittenfeld doubled down on his innocence in a video posted on Twitter.
Sittenfeld, who is seated and speaking directly to the camera, expressed gratitude for support he’s gotten in the wake of his arrest.
He said: “The allegations are simply not true. I am innocent and it’s meant the world to me to have people reaching out and saying, ‘P.G., we know you. We know your character and we believe in you.’ I stand strongly on my record of public service, including providing help that’s in the public interest to anyone, whether or not they have ever made a political contribution to me or not.”
Then Sittenfeld ticked off some of his accomplishments, including his work to keep a senior center open and on affordable housing.
It came just hours after Yost’s announcement.
“We will go to the Supreme Court today to seek suspension of Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld during his federal corruption case,” Yost wrote on Twitter. “Every defendant is presumed innocent in court. But it’d be foolish to ignore the risk of allowing him to wield public power under indictment.”