Detroit's mayor indicted in sex scandal

[HURAKAN]

Detroit's Democrat mayor indicted in sex scandal
Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:53am EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and official misconduct on Monday, stemming from a sex scandal and the prominent Democrat's handling of an $8.4 million settlement of a whistle-blower lawsuit against the city.

The controversy surrounding the black politician once seen as a rising star in his party has deadlocked city government and could spill over to presidential politics and the issue of how the Democratic Party handles Michigan delegates still being contested by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The eight-count criminal indictment, which was announced by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, included six alleged felonies and would carry a prison term of more than 15 years if Kilpatrick is convicted.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, Editing by Sandra Maler)
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They are falling faster than ducks in duck season.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Probably shouldn't have mentioned Mayor Kilpatrick's political affiliation, as Storm2K no longer allows political discussion.


Plus, the mainstream media never includes party affiliation during sex scandals, at least not in the top few paragraphs, unless it involves Congressman from Florida who send pervy e-mails to 16 year old boys or Idaho senators who troll in airport men's rooms.

[HURAKAN]

I just copied and pasted the title of the article.

[Cryomaniac]

Plus, the mainstream media never includes party affiliation during sex scandals, at least not in the top few paragraphs, unless it involves Congressman from Florida who send pervy e-mails to 16 year old boys or Idaho senators who troll in airport men's rooms.

It still doesn't make a great deal of difference what party they belong to, since both of the cases you mention are blatantly illegal.

[Ed Mahmoud]

One of Kilpatrick's girlfriends, Tamara Greene, was murdered in a drive buy shooting, shot with .40 ammo commonly used by police departments shortly after his wife had a violent confrontation with her. No proof that there was any connection, but I've heard suggestions that the mayor's friends in the police force have not been investigating the murder very hard.


If the mayor is just a serial philanderer, that is not a crime. However, during a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by cops fired by Kilpatrick after they questioned his use of city security staff during his escapades, Kilpatrick perjured himself under oath over his sexual relationship with another of his girlfriends, city employee Christine Beatty.

[Derek Ortt]

It still doesn't make a great deal of difference what party they belong to, since both of the cases you mention are blatantly illegal

That may not exactly be the case for the Foley case as the age of consent in D.C. is 16

[Ed Mahmoud]

It still doesn't make a great deal of difference what party they belong to, since both of the cases you mention are blatantly illegal

That may not exactly be the case for the Foley case as the age of consent in D.C. is 16

Rather than sending pervy e-mails to 16 year old boys, Jerry Studds (D-MA), actually was sodomizing one, a Congressional page, and was not prosecuted for that very reason. Of course he didn't resign. He turned his back to the Speaker of the House (a Democrat at the time) when a censure was read, claiming he was a victim of homophobia. (As if a Congressman sleeping with a female sixteen year old page wouldn't be in any trouble), and was returned to Congress by the voters of his district South of Boston for five more terms.

[gtalum]

Plus, the mainstream media never includes party affiliation during sex scandals, at least not in the top few paragraphs, unless it involves Congressman from Florida who send pervy e-mails to 16 year old boys or Idaho senators who troll in airport men's rooms.

You mean like when Faux News leblled Foley a Democrat?

[Ed Mahmoud]

Why is the one major broadcast/cable news outlet that is slightly right of center, as compared to more than a bit left of center, Faux News? Note also "Faux News" has noted liberals like Alan Colmes, Juan Williams and Susan Estrich as regular contributors, in at least an attempt to be somewhat fair and balanced.


Why does NBC/MSNBC hire former Carter speech writers and aids to Democrat Speaker Thomas P 'Tip' O'Neill as political talk show hosts, and ABC hires Clinton aide George Stephonopolous as chief political correspondant. Over at CBS, Katie Couric has family active in Democratic politics, and, of course, before he left CBS, Dan Rather was doing Democratic Party fundraisers. His daughter is a top official in the Texas Democrat Party.


Not that it matters, the Right has many internet sites, and, of course, conservative talk radio, to try to get equal time. The Left tried talk radio, but when they already have all the networks, CNN and NPR, well, it is hard to drum up listeners, and hence the financial failings of Air America.



Of course, my only disappointment is that TWC is showing less and less weather, and more and more global warming stuff.

But, thank goodness for the internet. Really, with just a modicum of knowledge, an amateur like me can learn so much more about the weather from various web sites than I could ever learn watching the Weather Channel.


I do remember the good old days, when TWC was about Weather, and M-TV was all about music videos.

I don't ever remember the History Channel being about history, however. I didn't know there was so a market for Roswell and Area 51 UFO junkies, but I guess there is, and the History Channel is filling it. At least when Court-TV went all police chase videos all the time, they at least had the honesty to change the channel's name. But I guess 'The History Channel' sounds better than 'The UFO Channel'.



Corrupt politicians of every political stripe come, and corrupt politicians go, but dozens, even hundreds, of cable channels and nothing good to watch, that is forever.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Of course, even when M-TV was still mostly videos, when they were all Duran Duran, Madonna, Michael Jackson and White Snake I knew they were jumping the shark.

[Cryomaniac]

It still doesn't make a great deal of difference what party they belong to, since both of the cases you mention are blatantly illegal

That may not exactly be the case for the Foley case as the age of consent in D.C. is 16

Well, it that case it was just a smear campaign.

[Ed Mahmoud]

It still doesn't make a great deal of difference what party they belong to, since both of the cases you mention are blatantly illegal

That may not exactly be the case for the Foley case as the age of consent in D.C. is 16

Well, it that case it was just a smear campaign.

Anyone, straight or gay, in their 40s hitting on 16 year olds is kinda creepy and probably not who I'd want representing me in Congress.

[Cryomaniac]

It still doesn't make a great deal of difference what party they belong to, since both of the cases you mention are blatantly illegal

That may not exactly be the case for the Foley case as the age of consent in D.C. is 16

Well, it that case it was just a smear campaign.

Anyone, straight or gay, in their 40s hitting on 16 year olds is kinda creepy and probably not who I'd want representing me in Congress.

There's not a lot you can do about it if it's legal. It's private business.

[Ed Mahmoud]

There's not a lot you can do about it if it's legal. It's private business.

I know that is the European attitude, and the French, especially, consider us Americans to be naive and/or prudes.


But I like it that we expect more of our leaders. We've got a few embarrasments in political life, but nobody as pathetic, as, say, George Galloway.

[MGC]

In any event, this should be fun to watch on the national news channels. Funny how the country is facinated by a salacious event involving our elected officials. Perhaps the Mayor should consult President Clinton on a successful purgery defense after all the Senate did acquit him......MGC

[Terrell]

A larger question for me is should the courts be able to make a person testify against themselves in a civil case? Or should the courts be allowed to question you under oath about your sex life? I would tend to say no.

[Ed Mahmoud]

A larger question for me is should the courts be able to make a person testify against themselves in a civil case? Or should the courts be allowed to question you under oath about your sex life? I would tend to say no.

The mayor fired some police officers who were asking uncomfortable questions about his use of city security for his affair with his chief of staff. The fired cops sued, and the love affair was a key component of their case, that they were fired for asking questions. If you rule out questions about the affair, the cops have no case.



Just like the Clinton/Lewinsky thing, if the mayor had told the truth under oath, while hurting his chances in a civil law suit, he would have faced no criminal jeopardy. Clinton broke no laws getting some from a legal aged adult intern. He never would have had to answer questions about that, except he was being sued for sexual harassment of an Arkansas state employee, and the plaintiffs were trying to establish a pattern of Clinton's sexual escapades with government employees. The judge in the case ruled that the line of questions was appropriate. Under oath, he admitted the long denied affair with Gennifer Flowers, because she had taped certain phone calls where he had discussed their sexual relationship. He lied about the Lewinsky matter, because he had no way of guessing that Monica would save a stained blue dress as a souvenir, which the FBI would eventually test and prove that it was his DNA. But the sex, that broke no laws.


If text messages sent on city owned cell phones and pagers hadn't been discovered, the lies while under oath never would have been discovered. If the mayor hadn't fired the cops, there never would have been a lawsuit.


Never the initial mistake, always the coverup.

Nixon didn't know in advance about Watergate, and, in fact, he won the '72 race over McGovern by a landslide. If he had told what he knew as soon as he found out, he never would have faced impeachment and been forced to resign. But he found out after the fact, and tried to cover it up.


There is a lesson there.

[gtalum]

Why is the one major broadcast/cable news outlet that is slightly right of center, as compared to more than a bit left of center, Faux News?

A couple of things. Fox News is not "slightly right of center", it's a full-fledged right-wing propaganda machine, every bit as much as the other major outlets are left-wing propaganda outlets. Regardless, it's not their political commentary shows that draw ire, it's the way they let their bias leak into their "journalism". Things like identifying Foley as a Democrat, for instance. They have a pattern of such incidents tainting their journalism, moreso than any of the the left-biased media outlets.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Well I'm not surprised...I guess the stress of political life could drive
some people to crazy affairs and scandals...this has to be the 3rd
case in the last 2 weeks...it's like the FLU...

[Miss Mary]

Here's a headline that I'd like to read someday...

Mayor/Governor/Senator - a one woman/man politician, faithful to spouse and devoted to his/her family!

Of course it will never happen (in print, headlines, etc.). It does happen, more times than we probably know, but the good ones are way too boring I guess.

Me? Personally, I'd take boring after the cheating scandals that have happened lately. Ugh....