Trying to climb back up on the political money wagon?

Democratic ex-Rep. Corrine Brown makes comeback bid after serving prison sentence

by Matthew Wilson

| June 20, 2022 04:28 PM

A former Florida Democratic representative is running for Congress again after serving more than two years in federal prison on a litany of mail and tax fraud charges.

Former Rep. Corrine Brown, who represented the Jacksonville area in Congress for 24 years before being defeated in the 2016 Democratic primary by Rep. Al Lawson, announced her decision to mount a comeback bid in Florida’s newly redrawn 10th Congressional District, offering details in a press release posted on her campaign website.

Shortly after Brown left Congress, she was convicted of 18 federal crimes, including wire fraud, mail fraud, filing false tax returns, and conspiracy, in a case stemming from a sham charity that prosecutors said Brown used as a slush fund to pay for vacations, lavish parties, and personal expenses. The charity, One Door Education, allegedly received over $830,000 in contributions to fund scholarships for low-income students but paid out only $1,200, with much of the remainder being deposited into Brown’s personal bank accounts.

The former congresswoman was sentenced to five years in federal prison in December 2017 and served more than two years of her sentence before being released early in April 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. While her conviction was later overturned by a federal appellate court due to concerns over the improper dismissal of a juror, Brown pleaded guilty last month to a single felony charge of lying on her tax returns in order to avoid a new trial and was sentenced to time served.

As a result of her guilty plea, Brown remains a convicted felon but is nevertheless still constitutionally eligible to seek federal office, according to a 2002 Congressional Research Service report.

Brown noted that her conviction has “shown her firsthand the inequality of the American judicial system” in a statement posted on her website.
"There are far too many innocent people wrongly imprisoned. Too many people whose lives have been ruined because of a racially biased and broken judicial system,” Brown said. “If nobody else is going to stand up to right these wrongs and fight for those who are being denied their God-given rights to freedom, justice, and the ability to participate in our democratic system, I will!”

In an interview with a local news agency shortly after announcing her run, Brown responded to a question asking why she wanted to reenter politics by describing public office as a “calling” for her.

“It’s a calling. It’s a service. It’s like a minister, [who has] a calling,” Brown said. “It’s something that I prayed over, and I just know that I can make a difference.”

Brown also played down her conviction, saying she wanted to “put [it] behind” her and “move forward.”

Florida’s Orlando-based 10th District is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Val Demings, who is vacating the seat to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for his Senate seat. Because the redrawn 10th District leans strongly Democratic, the winner of the Democratic primary is heavily favored to win the seat in the general election.

Brown defended her decision to run in the 10th District, parts of which are more than 100 miles away from her old Jacksonville-area district.
“You have been gerrymandered … you’re going to get a right-wing nut [in that seat],” Brown argued, noting that the Jacksonville seat had been redrawn by state legislators to ensure the election of a Republican. “I’m not in no suicidal mission.”

Brown faces rivals including former Rep. Alan Grayson, state Sen. Randolph Bracy, and gun control activist Maxwell Frost in the Aug. 23 Democratic primary.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Brown’s campaign for comment.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...rison-sentence