“I certainly wish I hadn’t said what I said, if I said it.” – Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, Dec. 9.

Five years later, Jim Graham is coming around to the idea that he made a mistake by intervening in a Metro development deal and the city’s lottery contract. His actions earned him dings from a Metro investigation, the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, and his D.C. Council colleagues. Now, running for re-election, Graham is apologizing—-sort of.

In an interview on NewsChannel 8’s NewsTalk, Graham took an interesting approach to the usual hazy-memory defense. Talking to host Bruce DePuyt, Graham apologized for what he said in a 2008 conversation involved relating to the deal—-if he said it at all.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery