Suspended Jefferson County District Attorney Claims Innocence On Perjury Charge
Suspended Jefferson County District Attorney Charles Todd Henderson says he isn’t guilty of a perjury charge announced late Friday by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
“I’m standing here today and I’m telling you I didn’t do it,” Henderson said at a press conference Tuesday. “I look forward to that day in court and I hope that day comes soon.”
Jim Parkman, an attorney for Henderson, suggested at the press conference the charge is politically motivated.
“I think it is strange, the timing of this indictment came just moments, minutes before an active workday that Todd Henderson was to step into office,” Parkman said.
Henderson was to take office as district attorney Tuesday. Instead, he was suspended in accordance with state law following the felony indictment. A Jefferson County judge appointed Danny Carr interim district attorney over the weekend.
Henderson is accused of giving false testimony in a divorce trial in which he served as guardian ad litem for the divorcing couple’s minor child. Parkman says Henderson was appointed to that position at the request of the woman in the case. Parkman says she did work on Henderson’s campaign. Henderson was removed as guardian ad litem after allegations of bias.
Parkman acknowledged Henderson had a romantic relationship with the woman, but said it didn’t start until after he was removed from the case.
Parkman said on Tuesday he still doesn’t know the specifics of the charge.
“The indictment doesn’t tell us what question was asked that he responded to that he lied about,” Parkman said. “But I can tell you that in reading it, you know, we have looked at it, we don’t believe there’s a single word.”
Henderson is a Democrat. Republican Attorney General Luther Strange’s office says it investigated Henderson based on information it received from the Alabama State Bar in December.
The missing children of Syria: Hidden in orphanages under Assad, where are they now?
Assad's forces detained mothers and children and sent many of the youth to orphanages. Syrians whose children vanished during the war are now seeking information on their fate. NPR investigates.
51 dead and more than 100 injured in nightclub fire in North Macedonia
A massive nightclub fire killed 51 people early Sunday in North Macedonia 's eastern town of Kocani, and injured more than 100. The blaze broke out during a concert by a local pop group.
Forget about rare earth minerals. We need more copper
In recent weeks, you've likely heard a lot about rare-earth substances with hard-to-pronounce names, but experts warn that the shortage of another crucial metal, copper, could be just as concerning.
March Madness begins for NPR’s College Podcast Challenge
Our 10 finalists for the best college podcasts in the country include students from some familiar schools, and a few surprises.
NASA’s stuck astronauts welcome their newly arrived replacements to the space station
Just over a day after blasting off, a SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering the replacements for NASA's two stuck astronauts.
Trump enacts a 1790s law to target ‘alien enemies’ for detention and deportation
In a presidential action Saturday, Trump invoked the wartime authority Alien Enemies Act, targeting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to immediate detention and deportation.