Detroit Mayor Rejects Deal to Step Down

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has rejected a plea deal in his assault case that would have forced him to resign, the Detroit Free Press reports. The judge in the case declined to discuss the mayor’s bond, which confines him to Detroit, and set a court date for Monday. This apparently dashes Kilpatrick’s hope of attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver next week.

The deal would have forced Kilpatrick to resign and take the rap for one assault charge in exchange for the dismissal of another. "I think that that deal has nothing to do with the case itself," said Kilpatrick's attorney, an apparent hint of politics at play. A prosecutor said the deal was unrelated to perjury charges that may run Kilpatrick out of office. “This is our offer, and it’s on our case,” he said. (More Kwame Kilpatrick stories.)