More text messages between former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty were made public Thursday after a Michigan appeals court said Wednesday it would not stop their release.
The messages were released by the Wayne County Clerk’s office in a 644-page document.
The messages are just a portion of the thousands possessed by prosecutors. But they help form the backbone of the case against Christine Beatty, who is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice for her testimony in a civil trial last year.
The messages contain explicit exchanges between Kilpatrick and Beatty, as well as the mayor’s thoughts on his family and office.
In one message, Beatty writes, “I think I’m getting ready to leave. Do I need to stay out to see you or is it looking like not? I just want you to hold me for a few, but if it can’t happen I’ll understand.”
Kilpatrick replied with, “IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. FIND A SPOT.”
In one series of exchanges, Kilpatrick and Beatty discuss marriage.
Beatty: “Will you marry me?”
Kilpatrick: “YES. WHEN?”
Beatty: “I dont know when, all I know is I want to be your wife! I want you to be my husband. So whenever our lives permit, just say youll marry me.”
Kilpatrick:” YES. YES. YES. I REALLY KNEW I WOULD BE WITH You SINCE 12TH GRADE. JUST A MATTER OF TIME.”
Beatty: “I will wait on it! …”
In another dialogue Beatty asks the mayor what he gets from his wife, Carlita, which he doesn’t get from her.
“The tremendous bond of Parenthood. J, J & J’s Mama. The Birth Experiences and the Dreams for our children,” Kilpatrick wrote.
There are also messages in the document sent by Kilpatrick to other woman, suggesting romantic involvement. The women’s names have been blocked out.
One such message reads, “You Too! I was about to jump your bones in Ford Field! LOL.”
But it’s not all sex scandal; there is also talk of business. One text sent by Kilpatrick allegedly shows him trying to smooth over a political decision making waves in the media.
“Ruth, Derick, Howard, Get Casino stmt and stance out there! WE LOOKED LIKE WE F***** UP ROYALLY! Sit down with Media, 2, 4, 7, Frankie, Serch, etc. Stop Ignorance Now!,” writes Kilpatrick in one message.
Wayne County Judge Judge Timothy Kenny said Monday he would release some text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty, unless the appeals court intervened by Thursday.
The Michigan Court of Appeals said Wednesday it will not interfere.
The messages that are not considered by the defense to be privileged, contain communications between attorney and client or spouses, or might prejudice future jurors will be released Thursday.
Those messages covered by privilege are expected to be redacted in the document, which means about 200 of the messages will be viewable.
Members of the media were charged more than $500 for a copy of the messages.
Kenny said there will be a Dec. 1 hearing to decide if the rest of the messages that are considered to be privileged will be released.
Beatty's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, had until noon Thursday to contest the ruling to release some of the sealed messages. Morganroth said he resigned to the fact that the messages were going to be released because he felt he did not have enough time to make a full appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Morganroth did call the prosecutor’s office in a last ditch effort to ask that the text messages not be released until Monday because it was Beatty’s daughter’s birthday this weekend. Morganroth said he was hoping Beatty would not have to deal with the release of the messages during family time.
The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the city in an effort to get the texts and other documents from the whistle-blower trial public. They have asked the judge in Beatty’s criminal trial to release the documents as evidence in that case.
“This is an essential part of government, certainly. The public needs to be reassured that it’s fairness by openness,” said Free Press attorney Herschel Fink.
Last Wednesday, Kenny listened to arguments from the newspapers' attorneys, prosecutors and Beatty's attorneys, but postponed his ruling until Monday.
"So far, I think the judge has clearly indicated his understanding of the Constitution, and I like what I am hearing," said Fink.
Kenny said he wanted a copy of the deposition the Free Press conducted with a city official who confirmed the text messages were sent on city-owned pagers and are therefore city property.
At previous hearings, Beatty’s lawyers have argued the messages are privileged and that releasing them would prejudice potential jurors. They also question the texts’ authenticity.
The messages were filed by prosecutors to show that Kilpatrick and Beatty sent and received them on city pagers.
"Wouldn't the mayor of a major American city complain to someone if he was receiving these types of messages by accident?" assistant prosecutor Robert Moran wrote.
“I think it does a lot of harm to the accused to have things out there that are privileged, or things that are not authenticated or considered illegally obtained,” said Morganroth.
Kenny also ruled that the prosecution’s subpoena that was used to obtain those text messages, which was sealed, can now be looked at by Morganroth.
Morganroth has said the messages were obtained illegally in violation of the Stored Communications Act.
Beatty and Kilpatrick last year in court denied having an extramarital affair. But messages published in January by the Detroit Free Press revealed a steamy relationship and sparked eight months of political turmoil at City Hall.
Cases with perjury and obstruction of justice charges were brought against the two for lying under oath about the affair.
Beatty declined a plea deal and is set for trial in January.
Kilpatrick accepted a deal and resigned as mayor in September. He will be in court Oct. 28 before serving an almost four-month prison sentence.
