New Hampshire 1st District Congressman Frank Guinta continues to deny any wrongdoing, despite reports released Tuesday that contradict his story about $355,000 he spent on his 2010 campaign.
Despite calls for his resignation from the state's top Republicans, Guinta said in a statement Tuesday he has no plans on stepping down.
"As I have maintained for the last five years, I made a mistake and for that I apologize," Guinta said. "Going forward, I will continue to operate in the same bipartisan and proactive manner Granite Staters sent me to Washington to work on behalf of them."
In reports released by the Federal Election Commission, Guinta’s mother Virginia says the money was a loan to her son and was intended to be paid back. The FEC says that’s inconsistent with Guinta's story.
Guinta maintains he held an "equitable interest" in money that was in a so-called family pot, but the FEC says there’s nothing to show that was the case.
The FEC reports also show that Guinta used money from his parents in his mayoral race in Manchester.
Last month, Guinta agreed to repay the money and pay a $15,000 fine for the illegal campaign contribution.
Guinta's attorney Cleta Mitchell also released a statement Tuesday, saying, "the Congressman always operated under the understanding that this was a loan using his funds for his campaign which he would repay to the account."
"Mrs. Guinta used the word loan, not because these were not his funds, but because she knew that the Congressman always intended to repay this loan in full," Mitchell said.
In the FEC report, Guinta's sister said she had no knowledge of the family account.
"While the Congressman was generating funds for this account, his sister was still a minor and did not have an understanding of this account," Mitchell said.
