Indicted Alaska Rep “Feels” Innocent, But Steps DownState Rep. Vic Kohring (R-AK), indicted last month on federal bribery charges, has officially stepped down.
Last week, Kohring had reached out to members of his Wasilla district and urged them in an op-ed piece to email and call in their thoughts on whether he should stay in office while he battled the charges.
In his resignation speech yesterday, he didn’t mention constituent input (or the 50 voters outside the luncheon wielding “Resign Now Vic” signs), but told the Associated Press:
“I take the job as a legislator very seriously, but my life is on the line, so I have chosen to defend myself so I can prevail in court,” Rep. Vic Kohring told The Associated Press. “It’s a very, very ugly decision to have to make, frankly.”
“Resigning by no means suggests guilt. It simply means I take the federal charges extremely seriously and intend to make every effort to prove I’m innocent in court,” Kohring said. “I honestly, in my heart, feel that I am innocent.”
Kohring was indicted in early May along with two former state lawmakers as part of the ongoing Veco investigation in Alaska. The three are accused of taking bribes in exchange for voting on a petroleum tax to benefit the oil services company.
