Kilpatrick and Beatty text-messaging scandal

The Kilpatrick and Beatty text-messaging scandal was a political sex scandal in the United States emerging from a whistleblower lawsuit involving former Detroit Police chief Gary Brown, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff and paramour Christine Beatty.

In 2003, a civil lawsuit was filed against Kilpatrick by ex-bodyguard Harold Nelthrope and former Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown, who claimed they were fired in retaliation for an internal-affairs investigation.

[2][7][8] After the Detroit Free Press filed a Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the proviso was removed from the main settlement document and put into a confidential supplement.

[11] The bulk of the text messages were released in late October 2008 by Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny, who instructed that some portions be redacted.

"[14] Kilpatrick said he had paid back the $8.4 million through "hard work for the city" and dismissed any intentions of removing himself from office as "political rhetoric".