Detroit (WWJ/AP) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm opened an extraordinary public hearing in Detroit Wednesday to determine whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick committed misconduct and should be removed from office.
Meanwhile, the mayor was expected to plead guilty to perjury charges at 9 a.m. on Thursday. More on this.
Wednesday's hearing comes at the request of Detroit City Council, which feels that Kilpatrick misled members when he settled lawsuits with two former Detroit police officers for more than $8 million. Kilpatrick's lawyers failed to persuade courts to stop the process.
The mayor wasn't present for the hearing, which adjourned for the day at around 6 p.m. The hearing was expected to resume Thursday at 11 a.m.
Governor Granholm opened the hearing at 9:01 a.m. Wednesday, with some brief remarks: "The burden of proof is sufficient evidence satisfactory to the governor. ... This is not a criminal trial. This is not a civil trial,'' Granholm said.
Listen to the governor's remarks in full:
In opening arguments, city council attorney Bill Goodman said he believes the mayor loves the city, but that's no excuse, "To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, 'Men often kill the things they love.' Be assured that this city has not been killed yet, but it is gravely wounded, and the mayor must be removed," Goodman said.
"These are not minor transgressions, Governor Granholm. They have brought this city to a halt,'' he said.
Listen to Goodman's full statement:
Mayor Kilpatrick's attorney Sharon McPhail fired back that she believe the state does not have the power to remove the mayor from office. "The mayor, who has not been convicted of any crime and who is still presumed innocent, believes that he must continue to do the work that he was elected to do by the citizens of Detroit," McPhail said.
"It's too stupid to be plausible'' that Kilpatrick had a secret pact to cover up embarrassing text messages, McPhail said She warned the governor that removing the mayor would have a chilling effect on officials statewide. "You will not see a single persuasive document in the (council's) entire case,'' McPhail said.
Listen to McPhail's full statement:
A lot of ground covered in the testimony from attorney Mike Stefani Wednesday afternoon. Stefani talked about why the text messages were needed especially in the case involving former Detroit Police Deputy Chief Harold Brown. "Part of the elements of the Whistleblower [case] was we had to show that there was a causal relationship between his termination and his reporting," Stefani said.
"So, we wanted to show that the real reason he was fired was because he was reporting on the wrongdoing on the part of two of the mayor's bodyguards, and was also investigating the Manoogian party," he said.
Listen to a clip of Stefani's testimony:
The hearing was expected to continue until 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, and reconvene at around 11 a.m. Thursday.
The hearing is being held at the state building in the New Center area. A room that usually holds Gaming Control Board hearings has been converted into a hearing room. Governor Granholm is sitting between an American flag and a blue State of Michigan flag.
The governor will be asked to resolve two questions pertaining to the mayor:
1) Did the mayor authorize settlements in the Whistleblower lawsuit involving former Detroit police officers Gary Brown and Walt Harris to further his personal and private interests? And
2) Did the mayor conceal from or fail to disclose to City Council information material to its review and approval of the settlements.
Under the Michigan Constitution, the governor has the power to expel a public official for misconduct. But Kilpatrick says Granholm is biased. His lawyers also have attacked the law as vague.
Granholm is being assisted by Gregory Holiday, a state administrative law judge.
The Governor rejected pleas from McPhail to suspend the process while the mayor deals with his criminal cases. It's unclear whether the mayor will testify. Goodman said the governor has no subpoena power, and witnesses must appear voluntarily.
Despite reports that she was in the hearing on Wednesday, the mayor's mother ,Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, said she will not attend any of the governor's proceedings.
Media across the state and country are following the developments. Governor press secretary Liz Boyd said the New York Times and Reuters were among those sending reporters to Detroit. Reporters from Lansing and Grand Rapids also were expected to attend.
In a separate case, Kilpatrick and Beatty are accused of perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges as a result of their testimony in a civil trial in 2007. They denied having a relationship, but text messages published in January by the Detroit Free Press revealed a torrid affair.
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