| From This Week In Texas Politics
In a statement to the press Monday, Worthy said she has "filed a 12-count criminal information that contains charges against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty." "President
Theodore Roosevelt once said 'no man is above the law and no man is below it,'" Worthy said, according to
Canada.com. "In this case we asked 'can we charge perjury?' Yes. 'Are there other crimes and offenses we can charge other than perjury?' Yes. 'Should we charge?' Yes." Kilpatrick and Beatty both denied they were in a sexual relationship during a court case last August. New records brought to light, however, show Kilpatrick and Beatty exchanging romantic text messages with each other. The text messages were found by the
Detroit Free Press as part of an investigation into the firing of Detroit Deputy Police Chief
Gary Brown in 2003. Brown sued over the termination, claiming Kilpatrick was retaliating against them for an investigation of the mayor's security team, according to
USA Today. In the suit, Brown and former officer
Harold Nelthrope claimed Kilpatrick fired them because the investigation might have revealed the affair between him and Beatty. Brown and Nelthrope's lawsuit against the city was settled in October for $8.4 million, along with another whistle-blower case. The text messages at the heart of the scandal contain a variety of discussions of city business and gossip, but the most revealing texts contain romantic messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty. Some of the texts include statements such as "I'm madly in love with you" (from Kilpatrick) and "did you miss me, sexually?" (from Beatty). Kilpatrick is married and Beatty was also married at the time, though she is since divorced. In direct contrast with their sworn statements in court, the text messages imply Beatty and Kilpatrick were deeply engaged in a romantic relationship. Wayne County Circuit Judge
Michael Callahan, who presided over Brown's trial, said if he had known of the text messages during the court case, "they would feel the fury of my wrath, but it's over… I wish I had seen the messages," according to
USA Today. Kilpatrick and Beatty will face multiple charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office in the 12-count indictment. A conviction could come with a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Kilpatrick is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charges at 5 p.m. on Monday. The Detroit City Council voted seven to one last week to ask Kilpatrick to resign his post as mayor. However, the vote was non-binding and Kilpatrick has so far refused to step down. Beatty resigned from her position in the mayor's office in January. Kilpatrick said Monday he still has no intention of resigning and will "remain focused" on doing his job as Detroit Mayor, according to
United Press International. Kilpatrick's attorney,
Dan Webb, told the press he believes the mayor will be cleared of all charges and said he advised Kilpatrick not to resign. "After a jury has heard the actual evidence in the courtroom, the mayor will be found not guilty and be exonerated of each and every one of the charges." |
