Baltimore mayor remains defiant after plea deal, resignation; says ‘enemies’ spread lies

Baltimore mayor defiant after plea, resignation

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is refusing to back down from her claims that she was forced from office.

Dixon is resigning under a plea deal that will keep her out of prison. She was convicted in December of misdemeanor embezzlement and entered an Alford plea to charge of perjury on Wednesday.

Dixon tells The Associated Press on Thursday that the earlier conviction was not accurate and that jurors were confused.

She says she takes responsibility for failing to disclose gifts from her ex-boyfriend, a developer. That lack of disclosure was the basis of the perjury charges she faced.

Dixon says prosecutors got many details wrong and that Lipscomb didn’t give her nearly as much as alleged. She says she has “a lot of enemies” who spread misinformation.