As he faces a new federal investigation, John G. Rowland marks a relevant anniverary today: It was exactly eight years ago that he announced his resignation in the face of an impeachment inquiry and federal criminal investigation.
It was a different time. The Hartford Courant rushed into a print with an extra edition carrying a story I wrote with Lynne Tuohy and Jon Lender. Today, the paper would update its web page, send an email blast and tweet the news.
In a story about his televised resignation speech for the next day’s paper, I described Rowland as “defiantly upbeat.” The only nod to the corruption investigation that forced his ouster was a single sentence absent from the prepared text: “I acknowledge that my poor judgment has brought us here.”
