GOP Senator Pleads Innocent to False Claims
Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.) pleaded innocent Thursday to charges of falsifying his Senate expense account to collect $3,825.
Durenberger has denied any criminal wrongdoing and said in a statement Thursday: “I am absolutely confident that I will be exonerated in a trial and I look forward to vindication.”
His lawyer asked U.S. District Judge Stanley S. Harris to transfer the case to a federal court in Minnesota. There was no immediate ruling on that request.
Durenberger said “not guilty” when asked how he pleaded to the charges. Harris allowed him to remain free on his own recognizance.
The senator is charged with making false claims to the Senate and with conspiring to make false claims. If convicted on both felony counts, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Durenberger, who is leaving the Senate after this year, was formally denounced by Senate colleagues in 1990 for the alleged financial improprieties.
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