‘I’m not a thief. I’ve never stolen anything in my life,’ O’Donnell testifies
Michael O’Donnell took the stand Thursday to defend himself against federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering connected to how he spent $10,500 of his campaign funds.
In sometimes emotional testimony, the Sedgwick County commissioner denied wrongdoing and the government’s allegations. He is charged with 26 felonies.
“They’re false. I’m not a thief. I’ve never stolen anything in my life,” he said.
At times he sobbed and got choked up on the witness stand, saying he’s been waiting to tell his story to the public for the 299 days since his indictment.
“I did not do these things. I did not steal from my contributors to enrich myself,” he said.
Earlier this week, four of his friends testified that they received checks from O’Donnell drawn on his campaign accounts, even when they recalled doing no work for his state senate or county commission campaigns.
O’Donnell’s attorneys contended the checks were paying friends who were on retainer or were bonuses for previously unpaid campaign-related duties.
Prosecutors claim the payments defrauded donors. At the heart of their case is their theory that he used campaign funds to buy friendships and further his social status — which would have benefited him personally.
Campaign finance law prohibits personal use of campaign funds.
“I did not buy any friendships,” O’Donnell said from the witness stand, adding that the friends in question were his friends before they were paid to work on his campaigns and remained friends after they were off the payroll.
O’Donnell told jurors that recruiting and paying family and friends to work on a political campaign “is a highly accepted practice” at both the state and federal levels and that he’s “never known anyone in politics who have had to keep track of their time.”
Prosecutors have made an issue of the fact that none of those four friends kept record of the time they spent working for O’Donnell.
“I’ve never heard of it. In fact, nobody that I’ve talked to has heard of it,” O’Donnell said, referring to time keeping.
He also told jurors that the FBI never asked to talk to him directly about his campaign spending, even though “I personally had all of the files” that would’ve answered its questions. Those files includes emails, Facebook posts, text messages, bank records, notes and other information.
“We’re all here today on bogus charges,” O’Donnell said, adding that he “would’ve loved” to talk with the FBI. But, he contended, the government was in a rush to hand down an indictment against him without having “a shred of evidence.”
Had the FBI approached him, jurors’ time and taxpayer dollars spent on prosecuting him would have been saved, he testified.
Likewise, he would have “avoided my life being destroyed.”
The trial, which started Monday, will continue Friday morning with more testimony from O’Donnell. Originally the case was expected to go to the jury no later than Friday morning. But because testimony is taking longer than anticipated, the earliest it might start deliberating at this point is Friday afternoon.
The government rested its case Wednesday. O’Donnell is the defense’s final witness.
Thursday’s events also prompted U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren to delay another high-interest matter.
Convicted swatter Tyler Barriss was due to be sentenced by Melgren at 1:30 p.m. Friday. But that hearing has been canceled, according to a notation in his court file, to make more time for the O’Donnell trial. It will be rescheduled for a later date.
This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 7:21 PM.
