So I want to first of all acknowledge your great mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been...
(APPLAUSE)
... on the frontlines -- has been on the frontlines doing an outstanding job of gathering together the leadership at every level in Detroit to bring about the kind of renaissance that all of us anticipate for this great city.
And he is a leader not just here in Detroit, not just in Michigan, but all across the country. People look to him. We know that he is going to be doing astounding things for many years to come.
And so I'm grateful to call him a friend and a colleague. And I'm looking forward to a lengthy collaboration in terms of making sure that Detroit does well in the future.
Video available here.
Here's what Kilpatrick is up to today:
Kilpatrick is to go before Wayne Circuit Judge David Groner at 2 p.m., where the now-convicted felon will begin paying the penalty he agreed to last month when he pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing justice by perjuring himself at last year's police whistle-blower trial.
It is expected that after the sentencing, Kilpatrick will immediately head to jail, where he'll exchange his monogrammed shirts and big-knot tie for a standard-issue green jumpsuit. And the man who once charged lavish hotel rooms on a city credit card will begin bunking in a place that costs the county $115 a night.
Kilpatrick's cell is tucked away in a corner of the second floor, past the medical section where other inmates visit and down a long corridor with a few missing ceiling tiles overhead.
His cell is formed of concrete blocks, a heavy steel door and painted a light cream. It's all he'll see for up to 23 hours a day through the holidays and his youngest son's birthday. With good time, he should emerge in early February.
In other "Friends of Barack" news, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Obama's buddy for almost twenty years, was also scheduled to receive his sentence today. But Rezko is now singing to the feds about Illinois' "pay to play" scandal--his date of doom in front of the judge has been postponed indefinitely. He must have a lot to talk about.
UPDATE 6:00PM CDT: Kwame got his sentence, 120 days in jail, and no time off for good behavior.
Technorati tags:
Obama 
Barack Obama 
Election 
Democrats 
Politics 
law 
Kwame Kilpatrick 
Detroit 
Michigan 
crime 
Rezko
Barack Obama is not a friend of Kwame Kilpatrick. You are misinformed.
ReplyDeletefriend and a colleague.
ReplyDeleteThat's what the Cult of Change leader said about Kwame.
That's not the Kwame Kilpatrick I knew!
ReplyDeleteNor the Rev. Wright, nor the Tony Rezko...
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is the Bill Ayers he knew.
"Senator Ted Stevens, friend of Sarah Palin, found guilty on all counts in corruption trial"
ReplyDeleteLast November, John McCain went on G. Gordon Liddy's radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend," and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family," he said. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great."
ReplyDeleteThe Obama Action Wire, or some similar group, is back.
ReplyDeletePalin confronted Stevens last year, asking him why he was under federal investigation.
Liddy did serve time in prison. Yes, Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence, but he paid his debt to society.
McCain did not begin his political career in Liddy's living room, nor did he serve on any boards with Liddy.
Has anyone here ever heard of the Keating Five, of which John McCain was listed. Three of the five went to Jail! and one was charged with exercising poor judgement. And he wants to The President. Humm
ReplyDelete