Detroit Mayor Resigns and Enters Guilty Plea; Deal Calls for Four Months in Jail

Criminal Justice

Detroit Mayor Resigns and Enters Guilty Plea; Deal Calls for Four Months in Jail

Posted Sep 4, 2008, 07:25 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Updated: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice for lying under oath and has agreed to resign from office.

Under the plea agreement revealed in a Detroit court today he will serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, surrender his law license and serve five years' probation, the Detroit Free Press reports. He will not run for office during those five years.

He also pleaded no contest to assault stemming from charges he shoved a sheriff's deputy trying to serve a subpoena, the Free Press reported. The deal calls for a four-month sentence that will run concurrently with the sentence in the obstruction case.

During the hearing Kilpatrick admitted that he lied under oath in a police whistle-blower case that resulted in an $8.4 million settlement. Members of the Detroit City Council say they were never told the settlement included a promise to keep text messages secret that would have revealed Kilpatrick’s affair with an aide and perjured testimony.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 28.

WXYZ carried today's hearing live on its website. Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner presided.

Kilpatrick's wife, Carlita, was also in the courtroom, according to the Detroit News' News Blog.

Asked if he understood that he was giving up the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, Kilpatrick told Groner, "I think I gave that up a long time ago, your honor."

He also hesitated when Groner asked if he was satisfied with his lawyers in the case. "Uh, what do you mean?" Kilpatrick asked. After Groner repeated the question, Kilpatrick said he was satisfied.

The plea follows a day of hearings convened by Michigan’s governor to determine whether Kilpatrick should be removed from office. Kilpatrick had sought to stop the hearings with a lawsuit that contended Gov. Jennifer Granholm had prejudged the case and the law governing the hearings is vague.

Updated throughout the morning to include news from the live court hearing.

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Posted by J.D. - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours, 12 minutes ago

Not surprising the media has been pretty tight-lipped about this case. ALSO not surprising that they haven’t given OBAMA’S thoughts on the mayor:

Kilpatrick is a “great mayor…who has been on the front lines of doing an outstanding job of gathering together the leadership at every level in Detroit to bring about the kind of renaissance that all of us anticipate for this great city. He is a leader…all across the country… I’m grateful to call him a FRIEND… I’m looking forward to a lengthy collaboration…“

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/04/good-riddance-kwame/
Posted by SME - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes ago

All things considered, I highly doubt Obama would suppose any public official obstructing justice or violating any law for that matter.
I suspect Obama respects the rule of law in this country; and, in doing so, wouldn’t support any violation of that, especially a public official, even if that person’s a “friend” of his.
Posted by J.D. - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 8 hours, 10 minutes ago

^ I hope so. But it certainly speaks to Obama’s “judgment” .... an issue he and Biden continue to focus on when discussing the opposing team.
Posted by J.D. - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 6 hours, 57 minutes ago

I doubt Biden would consider Kilpatrick “clean” or “articulate”—-

“I want to tell you, Detroit, that you done set me up for a comeback.“

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080905/D930HKN00.html

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