Kohl Says He’ll Help Pay Fines in Scandal

Brushing off the slush fund scandal that has disgraced him and his party, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl broke his self-imposed isolation to announce that he has raised millions to make good on any fines the party may face. He insisted that he would rather help pay for the financial damage than reveal the source of illegal campaign money he accepted in the 1990s. In his first news conference since the scandal broke in November, Kohl said in Berlin that he had mortgaged his home as part of a drive that has raised nearly $3 million. Kohl, 69, also said that he will hold on to his seat in Parliament despite calls even from some fellow Christian Democrats to give it up. Germany’s governing Social Democrats condemned Kohl, saying he was trying to buy his way out of trouble.