Motion to postpone arraignment: Ex-Detroit mayor viewed as ‘darker version’ of Bill Clinton

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Motion: Kilpatrick is ‘darker version’ of Clinton

DETROIT — A motion to postpone Kwame Kilpatrick’s arraignment for a probation violation refers to the former Detroit mayor as a “darker version” of ex-President Bill Clinton and claims his legal troubles continue to hold the city back.

The document, filed late Tuesday with the Michigan Court of Appeals by defense attorney Daniel Hajji, asks the court to grant a stay of the arraignment set for Friday in a lower court, which could land Kilpatrick back in jail.

Kilpatrick, whose marital infidelities were revealed in sexually explicit text messages between him and his former top aide, was ordered to appear by Judge David Groner in Wayne County Circuit Court after he failed to make a $79,011 restitution payment to the city on Feb. 19.

“The underlying victim in this case is the City of Detroit,” according to the document filed by Hajji. “It always was and it continues to be. The town is divided, with many of the opinion that Mr. Kilpatrick is nothing more than a darker version of Bill Clinton, many of the opinion that he was corrupt, and many of the opinion that this is just another giant fiasco that is accomplishing little more than giving Detroit another black eye.”

Clinton’s extramarital trysts haunted him during his final term in office. In 1998, Clinton initially denied, then publicly admitting to an earlier sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Kilpatrick, who is black, and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, denied having a romantic relationship and playing any roles in the firing of a police official during a 2007 whistle-blowers’ trial. Text messages first published in January 2008 by the Detroit Free Press contradicted their testimony.

The scandal led to perjury and other charges against both. Kilpatrick later entered pleas in two criminal cases and resigned in September 2008.

He spent 99 days in jail and agreed to pay Detroit $1 million in restitution over the five years of his probation.

He now lives in an affluent Dallas suburb and works as a salesman for software company Covisint.

Groner ordered Kilpatrick to make the $79,011 payment by Feb. 19 and a $240,000 payment in April after ruling he had been untruthful about his finances following his February 2009 jail release. State probation officials recommended to Groner on Tuesday that a warrant charging Kilpatrick with violating probation be filed against the former mayor.

The judge ordered prosecutors to work with probation officials on charges in the warrant. Prosecutors had claimed Kilpatrick was untruthful on the stand during a six-day restitution hearing that stretched over several months and ended in January.

They also said he moved large sums of money from various bank accounts in his name into those belonging to his wife, Carlita, to keep his personal finances hidden.

“The entire purpose of the plea agreement in this case was to let the City of Detroit heal and move forward, to require Mr. Kilpatrick to pay for his mistakes and also to allow him to move forward,” the Appeals Court motion stated. “Mr. Kilpatrick wishes to move on, even if the City of Detroit does not.”

In a written response to the Appeals Court that asked that the request be denied, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy called the motion “a rant.”

Messages left Wednesday by The Associated Press seeking comment from Hajji and fellow defense attorney Michael Alan Schwartz were not immediately returned.

On the Net:

Copy of Kilpatrick’s filing with appeals court: j.mp/b46cmr

Prosecutor’s response: j.mp/bOntHc