District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray rejected a plea deal from federal prosecutors in connection with their probe of his 2010 election campaign, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
Prosecutors in the U.S. capital offered Gray, a Democrat, a deal in September that called for him to plead guilty to one felony count, the newspaper said, citing a person with knowledge of the talks.
Six people have pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to Gray's campaign since 2012. They include Jeffrey Thompson, a businessman accused of financing a shadow campaign for Gray.
The Post said that in an interview Gray referred questions about the investigation to his attorney, Robert Bennett. The mayor denied any guilt, as he has throughout the three and a half years federal prosecutors have investigated the campaign.
"What would I plead to? I don't know how to put it any other way than that," the Post quoted him as saying.
Several people familiar with the case said prosecutors had reinterviewed witnesses in recent weeks, a sign they were moving closer to an indictment, the Post said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bennett said in an email, "If charged he (Gray) will vigorously fight the charges and expects to be vindicated."
Tainted by the scandal, Gray lost the Democratic primary in April to council member Muriel Bowser. She easily won the general election this month.
