Foe Apologizes for Claiming Abzug Backed Viet Cong
- Share via
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Former Rep. Richard Ottinger today retracted his charge that Bella Abzug had lauded the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War and threw his support behind her congressional comeback effort.
Ottinger made the retraction at a news conference two weeks after Abzug narrowly won a Democratic primary to face Republican Rep. Joseph DioGuardi.
Ottinger, who retired as the district’s congressman in 1984, had backed former aide Oren Teicher in the four-way primary--accounting for his blasting Abzug in June during the campaign.
“I had no evidence Bella supported the Viet Cong,” said Ottinger. “I perhaps misspoke. I was trying to knock her down so my candidate could win.”
But he added, “Between Bella and Joe DioGuardi, the choice is clear. I was the one who misbehaved, and for that I apologize.”
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
It’s been a year since two fires tore through Los Angeles County, killing 31 people and destroying 16,000 structures, and the disaster is still unfolding as thousands of people continue pick up the pieces, find new places to live, new jobs, new neighborhoods, and wrestle with whether to return to their old streets, which were burned beyond recognition.
Attorney Frank Carson defended the accused for decades. Framed for murder and later acquitted, a star witness admitted he lied. Stanislaus County paid $22.5M to settle his estate’s lawsuit.
Hear from the winner of the 1968 Caltech vs MIT electric car race. But it’s not all fresh air: smog devastates communities of color, and the Trump administration may pull the plug on California’s ability to clear its own air.
