Christopher Donovan, Connecticut House Speaker, Denies Knowledge of Scheme to Kill a Bill (AP) - Christopher G. Donovan, the speaker of the Connecticut House and a candidate for Congress, strongly denied on Sunday evening that he had any knowledge of what the federal authorities say was a scheme to kill a piece of legislation. In his first public comments about the scandal since the arrest of his campaign finance manager, Robert Braddock Jr., in the case, Mr. Donovan met with reporters on the sidewalk outside his campaign headquarters in downtown Meriden. "At no time did I know that anyone might have been trying to funnel illegal contributions to my campaign," he said. No one ever made a deal with me as a quid pro quo. He added that he learned of the investigation on Wednesday as Mr. Braddock was to be arrested and the Federal Bureau of Investigation called him "out of the blue" for an interview. Mr. Braddock's arrest, Mr. Donovan said, was like "getting punched in the stomach." Mr. Braddock's lawyer has said that his client is innocent, and will plead not guilty. Gabe Rosenberg, Mr. Donovan's spokesman, interrupted the news conference several times to say that the speaker would not discuss details of what he might know about the investigation. The accusations involve "conduit" campaign contributions - donations made by one person in the name of another person - and were connected to an effort in April to kill legislation that would have raised taxes and fees on owners of so-called roll-your-own-cigarette shops, the authorities said. No one bought my involvement, my position or my influence on the roll-your-own legislation or any other. Period," Mr. Donovan said. The bill, which originated in the Senate and failed there, never advanced to the House before the legislative session ended May 9. Mr. Donovan drew criticism after his campaign manager answered reporters" questions on Friday despite calls for the speaker to address the public. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a fellow Democrat, said last week that Mr. Donovan should "give it a lot of thought, quickly, and come forward and speak to the people of Connecticut." Mr. Donovan, of Meriden, is his party's candidate for the Fifth Congressional District seat being vacated by Representative Chris Murphy, who is running for the United States Senate. Mr. Donovan faces a primary in August against two party rivals, former State Representative Elizabeth Esty of Cheshire and Dan Roberti, a public-affairs consultant from Kent. Justin Bernier, a Republican rival in the Fifth District race, said last week that Mr. Donovan should speak for himself. On Sunday, Mr. Donovan said he did not speak immediately about the scandal because he first needed to take action, including firing Mr. Braddock, replacing his campaign manager and hiring an investigator. "I had to put that in place in order that I could then present to the public what I just did today," he said. He took responsibility for hiring Mr. Braddock, adding that he regretted doing so.