ORLANDO, Fla. – One month after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion, longtime U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown filed to run for Congress again.
The former Democratic congresswoman from Jacksonville was facing retrial after her conviction on 18 counts of fraud and corruption was overturned on appeal. As part of the plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, Brown was given time served and ordered to pay restitution to the IRS.
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News 6 anchor Justin Warmoth asked Brown on “The Weekly” what she would tell voters who might be skeptical of her recent legal troubles.
“What I would tell them is... it’s like a mission,” Brown said. “My pastor told me that all of the apostles went through prison. I heard Martha Stewart say she didn’t go to prison; she went to camp. I went to camp, but you had to have an appointment to see me because I helped so many people get out.”
Brown joins a crowded field of candidates looking to succeed U.S. Rep. Val Demings in Florida’s 10th Congressional District -- a portion of whom she represented during her 24 years in Congress.
“Clearly, I have found that there are problems with our criminal justice system, and it needs to be changed,” Brown said. “I’ve been extremely helpful in transportation and veterans, and I will now include criminal justice. Keep in mind on (transportation and veterans) I will have seniority. That is crucial. When you go to Congress as a freshman you can do very little, and I don’t feel the United States Congress is a training ground.”
Watch the full interview in the video player above.