The Hill News

In a solemn press conference Tuesday, former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said it was important to continue Congress on Your Corner events after the Arizona shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Giffords was gravely wounded from a gunshot to the head during a meet-and-greet event Saturday. In his remarks, Emanuel, who served in the House of Representatives before joining the Obama administration and is now running for mayor of Chicago, said he introduced the meet-your-congressmen event and that it was important to continue them.

Emanuel said he started the type of meeting when he was running for Congress in Chicago and thought it was effective. He continues to try and meet and talk with constituents while he runs for mayor and says he does not plan to stop in light of the shooting.

"I wanted to come up with a mode to stay in touch with the people of the city of Chicago," Emanuel said. "I think it's important to do that so people have direct access.

"I won't change," he added.

Emanuel also noted that he knew Giffords personally.

"Gabby is a friend, I recruited her to run for Congress," Emanuel said. "I helped her get elected and helped her get reelected."

Emanuel also pushed back on the idea that his now-famous saying that a crisis should never go to waste somehow relates to the shooting or the aftermath.

"First of all, what I said [was], 'Never allow a good crisis to go to waste when it's an opportunity to do things that you never considered or don't think were possible,' " Emanuel said. "That's not intended for this moment, nor does it apply to this moment."

H! e said he planned to be at a Chicago train stop this evening to talk with voters.