LANSING – Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appears prepared to accept a plea agreement and plead guilty before Wayne Circuit Chief Judge Edward Ewell on Thursday morning. Should that happen it would effectively end the hearing that Governor Jennifer Granholm now has underway to determine if Kilpatrick should be removed from office.
No plea agreement has been reached, or at least made public early Wednesday evening. But all indications now are that Kilpatrick is very close to accepting a plea that would effectively end the drama that has gripped both the state and city for the entire year.
A subdued James Thomas, one of Kilpatrick’s attorneys, told reporters at the end of the hearing that negotiations on a plea agreement had been underway through the day. Though he was careful not to say that Kilpatrick would plead guilty, he also said that it appeared on Wednesday night that the plea negotiations “were not final.”
Liz Boyd, spokesperson for Governor Jennifer Granholm, told reporters that as long as Kilpatrick remained in office the hearing requested by the Detroit City Council would continue.
An email from the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to reporters that came at approximately 4:40 p.m., Wednesday, shot through the newsroom next to the hearing room like cannon fire. While monitors in the room continue to show the ongoing testimony, every reporter’s attention was suddenly riveted to determining if the story that has dominated the state, not just the city, would soon be resolved.
The email had indicated that a plea was likely “eminent,” and that Kilpatrick may plead guilty at 5:15 p.m. in Detroit.
Detroit City Council member Sheila Cockrel, her voice shaking, told reporters if the news was true it would be a “tragic day but the very best thing for the city of Detroit. What we’re seeing here was an administration that lost its moral compass if it ever had one.”
Unconfirmed reports had it that Kilpatrick would accept jail time, resign from office and pay restitution. But nobody who apparently knew details of what was being discussed would make any comment.
Almost as quickly as the news hit, however, it was followed by news that a plea, if coming, would not occur until 9 a.m. on Thursday.
A status conference on Kilpatrick’s cases (he is charged by Prosecutor Kym Worthy with eight counts of perjury and misconduct and by Attorney General Mike Cox with two felony counts of assaulting police officers) was already scheduled for Thursday.
And late in the evening the prosecutor’s office sent another notice that Kilpatrick was expected to appear for the previously scheduled status conference.
Thomas told reporters that it did appear a plea agreement was close but not completed. Because he was in the hearing before Granholm all day, he said he did not know all the details of the negotiations but said it appeared a plea agreement would occur.
Granholm made no statement about the developments, except for a comment at the hearing’s end about possibly reconvening on Thursday.
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