Smith was arrested more than two years ago and charged with taking $7,000 in exchange for writing a letter of support for a daycare operator applying for a grant.
In a new court filing, federal prosecutors say Smith repeatedly told FBI agents after he was read his Miranda rights that he “f***ed up” — and never should’ve written the letter or taken the $7,000.
“Smith stated that it was all about getting money to put money back out on the streets in the hands of his campaign workers,” FBI agents Bryan Butler and Timothy Keese wrote in the report, made public Monday, that is a government exhibit in his court case.
The agents wrote that Smith even took FBI agents to his house and turned over the remaining $2,500 from the alleged $7,000 bribe. Smith, before he was arrested, had already given some money to the campaign worker who had secretly recorded him, as pay for the assistant’s work, and to another individual not identified by FBI agents in their report.
Smith’s defense attorneys say the comments he made to the FBI following his arrest should not be allowed at trial because Smith thought they were part of his plea negotiations.