A former campaign aide to D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators on Monday, according to the Associated Press:
Vernon Hawkins lied to the FBI when he said he never asked anyone to leave town to avoid a meeting with federal authorities, prosecutors said in charging the ex-aide with a single count of making a false statement. In fact, Hawkins persuaded and paid a person to go out of town for "an extended period of time" so that the person would be unavailable to cooperate, court papers allege.
Hawkins is the fourth ex-campaign aide to plead guilty to felonies related to Gray’s 2010 campaign.
