Kwame Kilpatrick To Get Hard Time For Probation Violations

99 days in jail didn't convince former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to follow the straight and narrow. The Detroit Democrat decided not to pay restitution, even though he was living the high life after serving 99 days for obstructing justice.

He will now serve up to five years in prison.

A judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick up to five years in prison for violating the terms of his probation on an obstruction of justice conviction.

An audible gasp erupted in the courtroom as deputies rushed to a row where Kilpatrick's family and friends were sitting, The Detroit Free Press reported. One woman was escorted out, the newspaper said.

"Your testimony in this court amounted to perjury," the judge told Kilpatrick, according to the Free Press. "Most compelling is that you lied to this court, continue to lie, after you pleaded guilty to lying.... The initial 120 days incarceration did nothing to rehabilitate you."

Kilpatrick had asked Judge David Groner to show him compassion during the Tuesday hearing, but Groner said "that ship has sailed."

Compassion? Hah. The initial sentence was far too lenient, and this episode shows that Kilpatrick holds the justice system in contempt as well as his own obligations under the law.

He also was fired from his job for the probation violation. Kilpatrick went to work for Compuware and got a six-figure salary for his efforts.

Kilpatrick had the ability to repay the full amount, but managed to set himself up in a million dollar mansion outside Dallas, Texas, owned expensive vehicles and even provided money for his wife's cosmetic surgery.

Detroit Mayor Pleads Guilty To Lying Under Oath

Make that former Mayor, as Kwame Kilpatrick, the Democratic mayor of Detroit, entered a guilty plea for lying under oath.

The deal calls for Kilpatrick to plead guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice by committing perjury, agreeing to serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, and serve five years' probation. He also agreed not to run for office during that five-year span.

The mayor will turn over his state pension to the City of Detroit, which paid $8.4 million to settle two whistle-blower lawsuits three former cops filed against the city. The mayor was charged with eight felony counts ranging from conspiracy to perjury to misconduct in office to obstruction of justice after the Free Press revealed that the mayor lied on the witness stand during a police whistle-blower trial and gave misleading testimony about whether he intended to fire a deputy police chief investigating allegations of wrongdoing by members of his inner circle.

In a rushed monotone, Kilpatrick told the court: "I lied under oath in the case of Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope versus the city of Detroit ... I did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury, to impede and obstruct the disposition of justice."

Groner asked Kilpatrick: "Are you satisfied with your lawyers in this case?"
The mayor replied: "Uh, what do you mean?"

After Groner explained, Kilpatrick said he was satisfied with the performance of his legal team.

Groner: "The court's satisfied and will accept the plea to two counts of obstruction of justice."

Oh, and the Detroit Free Press has decided to play name that party. Thanks! I made sure that was addressed in my lede.

UPDATE:
The AP gets it right and doesn't play name that party. Reuters also doesn't play name that party. Fancy that.

Resignation Deal Rejected By Kilpatrick

It's a deal that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit should take, but wont. The Democrat is charged in two separate criminal cases - one involving an assault of a police officer; the second stems from steamy emails to a coworker.

Thomas [Kilpatrick's attorney] called Prosecutor Douglas Baker's offer to drop one of the two charges in return for the mayor's resignation by Sept. 3 "gratuitous."

The other part of the deal would require the mayor to plead guilty to the remaining felony count.

Baker declined to discuss how the deal would be advantageous to the mayor.

"If it can settle the case, it's something that our office has decided would be a satisfactory resolution to the case," Baker said outside the courtroom. A veteran Wayne County prosecutor, Baker is retired but working on a contract to handle the case for Michigan Attorney General Cox. Cox called for Kilpatrick's resignation several months ago, after the mayor used the N-word and made other divisive comments during his State of the City speech.

The deal? The District Attorney would drop charges in the assault case if Kilpatrick resigns as mayor. Michigan Governor Granholm is supposed to consider a request by the Detroit City Council to have Kilpatrick removed from office. That is supposed to take place in September.

Don't hold your breath.

Meanwhile, the terms of Kilpatrick's bond would mean that he cannot attend the DNC convention in Denver; he's a superdelegate. That's bad news for the Obama campaign, which needs Michigan if he's got a chance to win the presidency.

Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Violated Bail Again?

This guy isn't the sharpest tool in the shed if he's violated bail not once, but twice within the span of a few days. At least the AP managed to avoid playing name that party for a change. This time, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D) was not supposed to have any contact with 11 named witnesses, including his sister.

So, what did he do? Spent time with his sister at her place this past weekend. The mayor's press flack claims that prosecutors are trying to score points. The Mayor's lawyers say that the judge had allowed the contact.

A prosecutor on Monday accused Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of violating his bond in an assault case by spending time over the weekend with his sister, one of 11 witnesses listed by authorities.

Kilpatrick and Ayanna Kilpatrick were together at their mother's house Saturday, a day after he was released from jail for violating bond in a separate perjury case, said Doug Baker of the Michigan attorney general's office.

The mayor is charged with assaulting two investigators who were trying to deliver a subpoena at his sister's house in July in the perjury case.

In a court filing, Baker said the mayor had been ordered to have no contact with witnesses.

Kilpatrick's defense team, however, believes the mayor is not in any trouble. Attorney Jim Thomas said Magistrate Renee McDuffee clarified Friday that Kilpatrick could have contact with his sister.

In a statement, Kilpatrick spokesman Marcus Reese accused state Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican, of trying to score political points with the latest filing against the embattled Democratic mayor.

Name That Party: Kwame Kilpatrick Assault Charge Edition

Once again, the Detroit Free Press decides to play name that party knowing full well that its dispatches will be picked up by the national media. Kilpatrick is a Democrat.

The District Attorney is expect to indict Kilpatrick for assaulting an officer in July as he tried to serve court papers on one of Kilpatrick's friends.

Name That Party: Kwame Kilpatrick Edition

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was ordered jail by a judge after violating the terms of his bond as part of his perjury case.

The mayor made an unauthorized trip to Canada last month, leading the county prosecutor's office to request Kilpatrick be punished and triggering the judge's ruling.

Only minutes earlier, the mayor offered an apology to the court, telling District Court Judge Ronald Giles that for seven months, "I've been living in an incredible state of pressure and scrutiny."

But Giles sent the mayor to jail anyway, telling him he would have given any defendant the same treatment.

"What matters to me though is how the court overall is perceived and how if it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in that seat, what would I do? And that answer is simple," he said.

Sadly lacking? The political affiliation of Mayor Kilpatrick. But, we know how these things go.

He's a Democrat. Would a GOPer get the same treatment? I think not. Fairness is all that I ask. Then again, this is the AP we're talking about.

UPDATE:
The New York Times apparently got the memo. They decided to play name that party as well. Jammie catches Kwame's home town paper, the Detroit Free Press, doing the same.

Detroit's Democrat Mayor Indicted For Perjury

I'm not surprised that Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted on multiple counts. He had this coming ever since it was revealed that he was engaging in sexually explicit text messages and his comments contradicted earlier statements:

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a one-time rising star and as Detroit's youngest elected leader, was charged Monday with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages surfaced that appear to contradict his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy also charged the popular yet polarizing 37-year-old mayor with obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.

Former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, 37, who also denied under oath that she and Kilpatrick shared a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003, was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.

In all, Worthy authorized a 12-count criminal information.

"This case was about as far from being a private matter as one can get. Honesty and integrity in the justice system is everything. That is what this case is about," Worthy said at a news conference.

"Just when did honesty and integrity, truth and honor become traits to be mocked, downplayed, ignored, laughed at or excuses made for them? When did telling the truth become a supporting player to everything else?"

A perjury conviction could bring up to 15 years' imprisonment and force Kilpatrick to relinquish the mayor's office.

There is absolutely no surprise, however, that his political affiliation was nowhere to be found, even on FoxNews.

On MSNBC, using AP's report, nothing. The AP general feed, nothing.

As they say in the business, developing.

UPDATE:
Don Surber has related thoughts and notes the relevance of including party affiliation, especially when some reports claim Kilpatrick was a rising star in his party (which isn't mentioned).

UPDATE:
Ed at Hot Air notes the AP's failure to provide Kilpatrick's party affiliation and Allahpundit notes that Reuters' coverage actually headlines it, which is how the media should be running with the story. We'll see how long his party affiliation lasts in the headline before being pushed well down into the story.

UPDATE:
Here's a .pdf of the DA's press release outlining the counts against Kilpatrick. The eight charges against Kilpatrick are conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, obstruction of justice, misconduct of office, and four counts of perjury (2 for court proceedings and two for other than court proceedings). The perjury counts are each worth 15 years in prison. A conviction on any of the charges would be an automatic removal from office. (HT: Honorary Youper at LGF).

UPDATE:
Let it be further noted that Kilpatrick is a superdelegate although he has not yet committed to a candidate. That saves one of the Democratic party candidates from having to distance themselves just as Hillary Clinton had to do with the Spitzer mess.