Gustavo Arellano: Kevin de León says he's sorry but won't resign. Kevin, stop gaslighting LA
After a week and a half of silence, Kevin de León emerged Wednesday afternoon to let the world know he is really, truly, honestly sorry for what he said, and didn't say, on the racist recording that has rocked Los Angeles.
The embattled councilmember appeared on CBS Los Angeles to repeat again and again that he "failed" to stop one colleague, Nury Martinez, from taking bigoted shots at a range of Angelenos, and another, Gil Cedillo, from plotting to take over seats held by Black politicians.
"I failed in that moment in time to step up and shut that meeting down," De León told reporter Tom Wait. He asked for forgiveness "from my people, my community for the harm caused by the painful words" uttered on the tape.
Also up: an interview in Spanish with Univision anchor León, , and other councilmembers. When Krauze pressed De León on why he stayed quiet, the councilmember responded in Spanglish, "shock, shock."
