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The Kilpatrick countdown begins

By far, the trickiest aspect about political scandal is the necessary balance of contrition and defiance on the part of the accused. Detroit’s embattled and soon to be erstwhile mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, has the defiant thing down cold. The contrition, on the other hand, doesn’t sound quite as heartfelt as his stated desire to hold onto his job.

“Over the past few days, there has been some speculation about who is in charge of the city,” Kilpatrick said. “Make no mistake about it: Since 2002, I have been in charge of the city. There have been ups and downs. There have been hills and mountains and valleys, but through it all, I remain in charge of the city.”

On speculation regarding a possible resignation, the mayor said, “Let me be clear: I would never quit on you. Ever. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and with your help, I’m going to continue to lead this city in getting the work done.”

Before that, the mayor had best lead his attorneys down to the courthouse.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she charged Kilpatrick and Beatty with multiple counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office in a 12-count indictment. The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Worthy also said others may be charged in the case. She asked Kilpatrick and [Christine] Beatty to turn themselves in by Tuesday morning.

It certainly sounds as though Kilpatrick and his legal team are leaning toward the defiance side of the equation in addressing the charges.

In a prepared statement he read at a news conference, Mr. Kilpatrick said he was “disappointed” by the prosecutor’s decision “but not surprised.” He expressed confidence that he wold be cleared at a trial and said he would concentrate on “moving the city forward” and laid out a schedule of planned initiatives.

Daniel Webb, Mr. Kilpatrick’s attorney, said it was highly unusual to bring perjury charges in a civil case, rather than a criminal case, and said he would raise “the issue of selective prosecution” before the judge who is assigned to the case. He said that proving perjury would be difficult because many of the questions in the case were “ambiguous” and many of the answers involved “opinions.”

You may judge for yourself the ambiguity involved:

The two, both of whom were married, were questioned about their relationship during a civil trial in which several former police officers accused Mr. Kilpatrick of forcing them out of jobs, in part, because their investigations might have uncovered his romances.

The text messages also contradicted testimony the two had provided about the departure of Gary Brown, one of the officers who filed the lawsuit.

Mr. Kilpatrick testified that Mr. Brown, then the deputy chief, had not been fired. But a text message from Ms. Beatty to Mr. Kilpatrick referred to their decision “to fire Gary Brown.” Mr. Kilpatrick’s text response, according to the Free Press, seemed to acknowledge the firing. “It had to happen though. I’m all the way with that!”

“I’m all the way with that!” You have to love the exclamation point.

No doubt, the finely tuned machine that is official Detroit will efficiently hum along while this matter plays out in the court and the press.

On a personal level, it’s an awful situation, of course. While Mayor Kilpatrick and his wronged wife, Carlita, have asked the media to leave them alone, every day that Kilpatrick remains in office feeds the media fire. If that seems unfair, they may want to bring their complaint to the political figure responsible for putting them here in the first place.

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