COLUMBIA, S.C. - A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said Friday night that he would plead guilty to a domestic violence charge after the governor commented on the case, calling it a "very stupid and tragic mistake."

Will Folks, who had resigned from his position effective Aug. 1, said "If the man I helped get elected governor and worked side-by-side with for four years has already decided that I'm guilty of a 'stupid and tragic mistake,' then I guess my luck with twelve people I've never met before probably isn't all that great."

Folks said he would forgo a jury trial and request pretrial intervention. Someone accepted into such a program could be required to perform community service, and take other steps, such as counseling or paying restitution, in exchange for clearing the first-time offender's record.

Earlier, Sanford told The Associated Press that he had called Folks to check on him, but that "in no way condones wrong behaviors."

"Will and I have been through a lot together over the years, but this is one of those things you cannot accept in one of my boys, who I love more than anything here on Earth ... or somebody I've grown very fond to over the years," Sanford said. "It's just flat out unacceptable."

A week after Folks was arrested, he denied accusations that he shoved his fiancee, Ashley Smith, into furniture at their home during a heated argument early July 21 in their upstairs hallway.

"I'm not a violent person," said Folks, who explained how Smith grabbed him as he attempted to leave.

"I don't know if she let go of me and fell or exactly what happened," Folks said. "I'm not saying that she fell on purpose, but I know I didn't intentionally grab her in such a way to make her fall."

A police report said Smith did not want to prosecute Folks, but the state has a no-drop policy for domestic violence cases.

Smith, a lobbyist who pushed Sanford's school choice plan during the legislative session, did not receive any medical attention after the incident, according to an investigative report.

But her attorney, Larry Richter, has said she was "badly bruised" on her back and right arm and leg.

Folks said he was did not know Smith was injured when he left the house.

"Obviously, if I had any thought in my head that she was seriously hurt, I would have put aside however mad we were at each other and make sure she was OK," he said.

Smith has a restraining order against Folks and he is not allowed any kind of contact with her, Richter said.

"The whole thing is shocking," said Folks, who is free on a personal recognizance bond. "It's been incredibly painful for me and my family and I know it's been incredibly painful for her and for her family."

Richter did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday night.

Earlier Friday, Folks said he thought the facts of the case would prove him innocent. But in his later news release, he said, that he wants to put it behind him.

"This isn't politics, this is my life, and I'd rather get convicted of something I know in my heart I didn't do than put my family and Ashley's family through any more unnecessary suffering," Folks wrote. "I wish Ashley and her family nothing but the best."

Two days before he was charged, Folks had announced he was leaving the Republican governor's office to run his own political consulting business. He said he tried to distance himself from the governor, who has stuck by the 30-year-old despite a few political gaffes, such as an inappropriate joke or borrowing a Corvette for more than a week from a Columbia car dealer and Sanford adviser.

"I have refrained from calling, e-mailing or having any contact with the governor," Folks said. "I haven't sought any assistance from anyone on his staff or in any of his Cabinet agencies or anywhere else."

The governor's office said Folks has been using vacation time until his resignation takes effect.

Sanford said he called to check on Folks, but that "doesn't belittle the magnitude of the mistake."

"There's a difference though between a blunder and a stupid decision that ultimately impacts yourself and to some degree, obviously, my standing," Sanford said.

Sanford said he was glad police followed policy and pursued the case.

"Domestic violence is a huge problem in South Carolina. It's unacceptable at any level, by anybody," the governor said.