Sanchez terminates her candidacy for leadership, says her husband "facing charges"



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Sánchez was running for the House of Democratic caucus chair at the next Congress, where Democrats will hold the majority after Republicans lost control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections on Tuesday.

In a letter on Thursday announcing that she was giving up her candidacy, Sánchez wrote: "Unfortunately, an unexpected family affair requiring my attention forced me to withdraw my name as a presidential candidate for the Democratic Caucus. "

Sánchez explained later in a statement: "Earlier in the day, I learned that my husband was facing charges in Connecticut.After a careful review of the time and energy spent on the requirements of leadership, I decided that my son should now be the focus of attention, my family and my constituents in California. "

The US Attorney's Office in the Connecticut District announced Thursday that a federal grand jury in New Haven had "made two indictments charging a total of five people linked to a Southeast Connecticut energy cooperative. offenses related to theft of federal funds ".

James Sullivan is one of the individuals charged in the first indictment. Sullivan's and other accused's contact details were not immediately available.

According to the prosecutor's office, this indictment alleges that Sullivan and four other people "planned, organized and led lavish trips outside of Connecticut, including the Kentucky Derby in 2015 and 2016, and at a golf complex in the United States. luxury in West Virginia in 2015. "He alleges that the trips were not related to activities related to the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Corporation, but that" the co-conspirators ordered that the funds used to pay the travel originates from the CMEEC Margin account, without the vote of the Board of Directors of CMEEC, and without the written consent of the member cities required by the CMEEC membership agreement. "

The second indictment accuses Sullivan and another person of "participating in a conspiracy to pay Sullivan's personal expenses with CMEEC funds." Drew Rankin, the co-op's president and chief executive officer, "reportedly authorized a number of personal expenses for Sullivan, including air tickets for dozens of Sullivan flights, trips to Sullivan and family members. to travel to the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Kentucky Derby, and airfare for a flight from Sullivan's wife to Key West, Florida, in December 2014. "

CNN has sought the advice of Rankin and Sullivan and has not yet received a response.

The US prosecutor's office announced Thursday that the five defendants had pleaded not guilty.

In 2017, Sánchez defended her trip to Louisville, Kentucky with her husband after The Bulletin, a Connecticut newspaper, announced that the two had made a trip in 2013 and 2014. According to the newspaper, Sánchez's office said "did not run the Congress". rules of ethics. "

"Congressman Sanchez attended the event in a personal capacity as the wife of a member of the board of directors, which is expressly permitted by the rules of the House" said to the press a spokeswoman for the congresswoman: "Although she is not obliged to do this, out of caution, she sought the advice of the House Ethics Committee before 'attend the meeting and the committee confirmed that she could attend.'

CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

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