A day after being indicted on corruption charges, Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness turned herself in to authorities and pleaded not guilty.
McGuiness appeared in court via video stream from a holding room in the basement according to the News Journal.
She didn’t speak during the brief hearing, and her attorney Steve Wood, speaking on her behalf, told the court McGuiness pleaded not guilty.
Unsecured bail was set at $50,000, and McGuiness exited the courthouse without comment.
There was one debate during Tuesday morning’s hearing over bail conditions.
McGuiness and Wood opposed the prosecutors’ request that she be barred from speaking to her daughter about the case. The felony theft charge against McGuiness is based on her daughter’s employment in the auditor’s office.
The judge sided with McGuiness and Wood, but did bar her from speaking to former and current employees of the auditor’s office about the case.
Wood released a statement on McGuiness' behalf, calling the State Auditor "absolutely innocent" and arguing the 11-page indictment against her "full of misleading statements and half-truths."
The statement refuted each of the charges, and specifically called the witness intimidation charge "pure fiction" and is "the result of fanciful tales spun by former employees with an axe to grind."
McGuiness faces two felony and several misdemeanor charges. She could face up to 13 years in prison if convicted.
