Seattle Mayor Ed Murray will not step down amid accusations

In his first appearance since being accused of raping a minor in the ’80s, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray says he will not step down and he will continue his mayoral campaign.

Listen to the mayor’s statement

“Things have never come easy to me in life, but I have never backed down and I will not back down now,” Murray said Friday afternoon. “I will continue to be mayor of this city, and I will continue to run for reelection.”

RELATED: Kent man sues Seattle Mayor Murray for rape when he was a minor

“Let me be clear, these allegations dating back to a period of more than 30 years are simply not true,” he said, noting that he cannot answer any questions about the issue as it is now a legal matter.

“To be on the receiving end of such untrue allegations is very painful for me, it is painful for my husband, and for those who are close to us,” Murray said. “I understand the individual making these accusations is troubled and that makes me sad as well.”

The mayor refused to take questions from the media after the very brief statement that lasted just 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Murray’s accuser ready for deposition “ASAP”

But the man accusing the mayor of rape and molestation maintains that the allegations are “100 percent” true, and he is ready to face Murray’s lawyer “ASAP.”

The Seattle Times reports that the man’s attorney, Lincoln Beauregard, sent a letter to Robert Sulkin, the mayor’s private attorney, on April 7. The letter is cordial, opening with “Greetings, I am looking forward to working with you on the Mayor Ed Murray molestation lawsuit.”

Beauregard requests a deposition in May. But before that, he is offering his client — referred to as D.H. in court documents — for deposition as soon as next week. He also notes that he and D.H. saw Sulkin’s Thursday news conference where he insinuated that the lawsuit was politically motivated during a time when the mayor is running for reelection. But D.H. and his attorney immediately challenged that accusation.

… (we) recognize that Mayor Murray must be anxious to “pin” our client to his story — which is 100 percent true. With that, we can make D.H. available for a video deposition ASAP — perhaps next week … Let us know if you would like to take advantage of this early opportunity to “pin” my client to his story. D.H. is anxious to respond to your public allegations of wrongful motive.

Beauregard notes that Sulkin is entitled to a second deposition in the future, “so there is very little risk moving forward immediately.”

Beyond scheduling the depositions, there was one final request that Beauregard asked of Sulkin: “…it would be appreciated if you could confirm that Mayor Murray has the noted mole,” he writes. The mole was reported in the lawsuit as a mark Murray has on his genitalia. Confirmation of the mole is not a pre-condition for the deposition, but the confirmation would be appreciated, Beauregard writes.

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