Missouri Speaker John Diehl issues apology for ‘poor judgment’

Missouri House Speaker John Diehl issued an apology late Wednesday afternoon in the wake of a story published by The Star about text exchanges between him and a Capitol intern.

The statement followed a day where the St. Louis-area Republican spent mostly behind closed doors in meetings with other lawmakers as the Capitol buzzed about the intern story.

This is the statement issued as a news release from the speaker’s office at 4:38 p.m.:

“I take full responsibility for my actions and am truly sorry to those I let down. I apologize for the poor judgment I displayed that put me and those closest to me in this situation. I also regret that the woman has been dragged into this situation. The buck stops here. I ask for forgiveness. I will begin immediately working to restore the trust of those closest to me, and getting back to the important work that is required in the final days of session.”

This story was originally published May 13, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Missouri Speaker John Diehl issues apology for ‘poor judgment’."