IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Barry, Staff Critical Of Ex-Girlfriend's Work", ""Pershing Park: Another Piece Of Evidence Goes Missing; One Cop Speaks Out," "Complaint No. 09-109484: Fenty's Traffic Accident Report," "More On The Fenty Accident Report."

Morning all. Let's get to it. FOIAs are starting to come back regarding Barry's suspicious contract work. WaPo provides a sweet overview of Barry's contracts. The upshot: Barry spent way more than his fellow councilmembers on contract work and the results of that work are ambiguous. It's like he operated a temp agency out of his office. WaPo writes: "Newly released documents show that from fiscal 2007 to 2009, Barry's office spent more than $252,000 on outside contracts, eclipsing the second-biggest spender, Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large), whose office spent $45,000....Barry (D-Ward 8) paid for a variety of consulting services, media relations assistance and temporary workers. Some of the work appears to have little connection to city business. One consultant hired to address poverty in Ward 8 lived in Ohio." WaPo also published a piece on the saga between Barry, his ex-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt and Delonta Brighthaupt. This time the story is told via e-mails between Barry, his ex and her ex-husband. What you need to know: If you are a councilmember or are thinking about becoming a councilmember, do not hire your girlfriend. It should be noted that days before Barry was arrested on stalking charges, Watts-Brighthaupt had rejected the councilmember's latest contract offer.

CAR ACCIDENT CHRONICLES PART ONE: This past Sunday's fender bender is becoming a minor controversy for Mayor Fenty. WaPo notes that the police report not only contradicts Fenty and Co.'s public accounting of the crash but appears to show D.C. Police officers violating their own procedures. Weirdest detail: the report was taken by a member of Fenty's security detail and not a regular beat cop. Key graph: "Spokeswoman Mafara Hobson wrote in an e-mail Sunday that 'a vehicle ran a stop sign and pulled out in front of the Mayor's vehicle, causing a collision.' But the accident report indicates that Fenty's Lincoln Navigator was the "striking vehicle" in the crash with the Nissan Pathfinder, driven by James Utt Jr., 19." We have the police report/collector's item.

CAR ACCIDENT CHRONICLES PART TWO: News crews, Fenty and others were about to start a press conference at Penn and Alabama Avenues SE when two cars collided in a bad accident. Citizens and politicos rushed to the scene to help. NBC4 has footage, interviews with one of the drivers and a shocked looking Fenty. WJLA has more: "Fire officials say the two-car crash occurred around 4 p.m. when witnesses and people passing by became first responders. After the crash, people ran to a smoldering Cadillac and battled to get the two people trapped and injured inside to safety away from the vehicle." WaPo has an account as well; the mayor's press conference was canceled. Fox5 was there, too.

PRIVATE SECURITY LOSES DISTRICT CONTRACT: The Examiner's Michael Neibauer reports that Fenty is moving to cut out Hawk One from city contracts. Hawk One security guards are the ubiquitous greeters/wanders at various government buildings and public schools. Hawk One has lost one city contract and is expected to be out as the school security force as well. Key graphs: "The company has fared poorly since winning the job in 2005, District officials say. Employees in government buildings are poorly supervised, inadequately trained and armed, and ineffective at checking people, city officials say. In the schools, Hawk One personnel have struggled to contain violence and have a history of fraternizing with students. 'Their performance was just not up to standards,' one city leader said. 'They did themselves in.'"

AFTER THE JUMP—Jonetta on the hydrant problem, the WaPo editorial board weighs in on Pershing Park, and some serious fiscal policy.

PERSHING PARK: WaPo's editorial board gently nudges AG Peter Nickles to get to explain the problems in a Pershing Park case languishing in U.S. District Court. Last week, a federal judge slammed the OAG's inadequate response to discovery and promised painful sanctions. By our count, this is the third time a federal judge has recently taken OAG to task. Judges have rebuked Nickles and Co. in the CFSA case as well as a Special Ed attorney case. This case stems from the September 27, 2002 mass arrests in Pershing Park. Key newsy graph: "Mr. Nickles told us that he is taking the judge's admonition to heart. He has blamed the city's inability to properly manage records during discovery on a chronic lack of resources, but he said he is reserving judgment on exactly what went wrong in this case until he knows all the facts. It's encouraging that he enlisted former federal judge Stanley Sporkin, who is offering his considerable expertise on a pro bono basis, to advise him." The editorial board suggests Fenty settle the case, and if the the problems aren't cleared up by Nickles, it states that the court should get involved—not the D.C. Council. The editorial states that the D.C. Council isn't fit to investigate since many have already "prejudged the outcome."

HYDRANTS: The Examiner's Jonetta Rose Barras believes Peggy Cooper Cafritz and her neighbors should sue over the faulty hydrants. It's the only way to get some straight answers on the matter.  Key graph: "What's there to investigate about the fire that destroyed the home of former D.C. Board of Education President Peggy Cooper Cafritz on Chain Bridge Road? Either fire hydrants worked or they didn't. Either the water pressure was adequate or it wasn't. It's just that simple. But the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority and fire department are doing the butt-covering dance."

D.C. BUDGET: The DC Fiscal Policy Institute provides a great overview on the District budget and the D.C. Council's moves to make up for the revenue shortfalls. Key graph: "On the positive side, the Council saved programs crucial to the city’s safety net from the chopping block and avoided even deeper funding cuts by raising revenue. Yet some of the tax increases are regressive, meaning they will have a greater financial impact on moderate and low income DC residents."

WHEN SNAKES ATTACK: WJLA/News Channel 8 are reporting that two Southeast residents have been bitten by poisonous copperhead snakes! Key graph: "Forty-eight-year-old Angela Bradford was walking her dog last week when something brushed against her shoe. She bent down to see what it was, and a snake bit her finger. Bradford took a picture of the snake with her cell phone, and doctors determined it was a copperhead. She underwent anti-venom therapy."

The Washington Post has uncovered more of the twists and turns from the love-hate triangle between Councilmember Marion Barry, his ex-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, and her ex-husband Delonta Brighthaupt. The newspaper has obtained e-mails from Barry and his staff that were critical of Watts-Brighthaupt's contract work. The Post writes:

"Barry's complaints included Watts-Brighthaupt's spelling, grammar, tendency to fall behind schedule and failure to be available during business hours. The e-mails appear to confirm that Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt traveled together to Las Vegas and Memphis. Though the city paid for Barry's airfare, the government did not foot the bill for Watts-Brighthaupt, and did not pay for a $736 spa visit at the Paris hotel during their May trip to Las Vegas, travel records show."

In early January, Delonta Brighthaupt stepped into the contract issue with Barry.

Delonta Brighthaupt basically accused the councilmember of using taxpayer funds to keep Watts-Brighthaupt around. In the days before Barry's July 4 stalking arrest, Watts-Brighthaupt had rejected another Barry contract offer.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Barry never got into detail with council staff. But it was enough for Brighthaupt to get barred that night from a Wilson Building event. At 10:30 that night, Barry left a voicemail on his ex-girlfriend's cellphone apologizing for his actions. He goes on to state that Delonta Brighthaupt was now free to go anywhere he wants.

This wasn't the end to this love-hate triangle between Barry, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt and Delonta Brighthaupt which we detail in this week's cover. On July 1, Barry wrote a letter to Donna apologizing further. Barry's staff provided the letter to Washington City Paper this week.

In the letter, Barry writes: "In an effort to resolve this situation in an amicable manner, I sincerely apologize to you, Brew and to Mr. Brighthaupt."

Full letter after the jump.

Dear Donna,

There has been a lot of controversy and confusion related to the situation surrounding the screening last night.  I urged you several times on Tuesday not to bring your ex-husband to the screening at the Wilson Building that night because his presence made me feel threatened.  You arrived at the Wilson Building with your daughter and Mr. Brighthaupt was denied entry, I can see how this was embarrassing to each of you.

Continuing to go back and forth on this issue is not in the best interest of you, Mr. Brighthaupt and me.  In an effort to resolve this situation in an amicable manner, I sincerely apologize to you, Brew and to Mr. Brighthaupt.  Furthermore I am not going to pursue any further actions related to Mr. Brighthaupt.

In order to put this to rest and resolve it amicably, I am asking for you to agree with me that going forward we will not defame or seek to injure each other’s reputation in any form or manner.  I ask that you respond to me by letter indicating that you agree to these terms.  Following your written response we will also agree that there will be no interaction, conversations or contact between us going forward.

I look forward to your swift response, please call me regarding this letter.

Sincerely,

Marion Barry

You can call Councilmember Marion Barry a lot of things:  Civil Rights Leader, Mayor-for-Life, Addict, Male Slut. You can now add Incurable Optimist to the list. In his rocky relationship with Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, he endured one rejection after another. And the man kept coming back.

A Hotel spat in Denver where he threw her out of his room for refusing to give him a blowjob. A fight in Las Vegas. Pleadings over e-mail that involved a high-ranking staffer and public money.  Now we know there were plenty of intense moments closer to home between Barry, Donna, and Donna's ex-husband Delonta Brighthaupt.

In this week's cover, we detail the love triangle and pay particular attention to the councilmember using his office and authority in an attempt to get Delonta out of the picture.

Barry's move backfired. Within a few days, he would be arrested on stalking charges. The charges were later dismissed. But the police report surely shows a man in hot pursuit.

We'll post the police report tomorrow.

At a little after 9 p.m., Councilmember Marion Barry spokesperson Natalie Williams began another hastily scheduled press conference in front of the Wilson Building by thanking the U.S. Attorney's Office for dropping the stalking charge against the councilmember. Prosecutors had announced three hours earlier that they would not press on with the stalking case. "Our hearts are full tonight with thanks," Williams said. "We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney's Office has seen fit to not charge Mr. Barry."

Barry had been charged with stalking Donna Watts-Brighthaupt over the July 4 weekend. The arrest had since provoked a series of press conferences and embarrassing disclosures concerning Barry's troubled relationship with Watts-Brighthaupt. The disclosures included bizarre hotel fights and audio tapes showing how obsessed Barry had become with his ex-girlfriend. Yet to be clarified is how Barry came to secure lucrative contract work for Watts-Brighthaupt. 

Williams stated that Barry would answer questions about the the payments tomorrow. She also said that they would be able to provide the documents (contracts, e-mails, etc.) proving that the councilmember had acted properly. She insisted that the nothing Barry had done was illegal. 

After Williams finished reading from her prepared text, she took a few questions from reporters. The first question concerned the audio tapes. 

"This is over," Williams declared. But it wasn't. She went on to argue that the tapes only proved that Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt were in a romantic relationship. 

Williams later added that "Barry is not disappointed" by his behavior heard and referenced on the audio tapes. She refused to address Barry's actions at the Democratic National Convention when he kicked Watts-Brighthaupt out of his hotel room after she claims she refused to give him a blowjob. "They're two adults," she'd only say.

As to how Watts-Brighthaupt got the contract work from Barry's office, Williams isn't quite clear on all the details. She says she doesn't know if the ex-girlfriend even went through any interview process. "I have no idea how that transpired," she admitted. 

Earlier this evening, City Desk interviewed Watts-Brighthaupt on the U.S. Attorney's Office decision. 

*photos by Darrow Montgomery.

Barry, drama, a hotel room. Sound familiar?

LL has the tape recordings (with transcripts) detailing the depths of Councilmember Marion Barry's obsessive relationship with former girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. You will also find a the complex story of their on-again, off-again relationship. This involves:

• Barry kicking Watts-Brighthaupt out of his Denver hotel room during the Democratic National Convention after she refused to give him a blowjob.
• Barry leaving voicemail message after voicemail message, including one where he says, "I'm addicted to you."
• Barry promising her money.

Judge for yourself who the unstable parties are.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Marion Barry appeared in front of cameras this morning for the first time since his Saturday-night arrest, but that's about all he did. Longtime lawyer Fred Cooke did virtually all the talking, while Barry stood behind him in a gray suit, fedora, and paisley tie, remaining mute save for an occasional whisper in Cooke's ear.

In contrast to yesterday's presser, where spokesperson Natalie Williams spent most of the time attacking the credibility of the alleged stalkee and glorifying Barry's munificence, Cooke stuck mostly to the confines of the legal case against his client.

"Mr. Barry specifically and vehemently denies stalking anyone," Cooke said. "We believe that the charge is baseless. We believe that the charge stems from a personal relationship that has gone horribly wrong in a lot of ways and has resulted in one party to that relationship striking out at Mr. Barry and repaying him for some of his kindnesses."

OK, so maybe Cooke didn't lay completely off the smear campaign, but he mentioned the name of the woman, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, only once, in response to a question about her name.

Instead, Cooke emphasized the possibility that this will all go away very soon: "It is our hope that a careful review of the facts and circumstances by the Office of the United States Attorney will lead that office to conclude that no charges should be formally filed or lodged against Mr. Barry," he said, adding, "It's clear there was no stalking, no coercion....These are all facts that make it very difficult for the prosecutors to have a successful prosecution for stalking."

Cooke did entertain a few questions on the details of the relationship between Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt, saying the liaison "had run its course," having lasted "at least a year, maybe 18 months" and ended "within the last month or six weeks."

He referred to "verbal confrontations" between Barry and the woman's ex-husband in the past—which is what, he says, led Barry to have him banned from a Wilson Building event last Friday. "That individual had been confrontational with Mr. Barry in the past," Cooke explained, "and Mr. Barry thought that the decorum of the event required that that sort of behavior not reoccur."

As far as the events of Saturday, Cooke confirmed that the two planned to travel to Rehoboth Beach together, but they turned back to D.C. after having a late lunch in Annapolis. "I don't know what caused her to charge her mind," he said. "I know that she changed her mind." As to what happened afterward, the few details Cooke provided seemed to be mostly consistent with the sequence of events Watts-Brighthaupt described yesterday to LL—though Cooke insists that Barry was not following her when the arrest happened: "Mr. Barry was traveling on public streets on his way home," he said. "He was not following anyone." (He did contradict Williams' assertion yesterday that Watts-Brighthaupt's car was actually following Barry's when they entered Anacostia Park.)

Notably, Cooke declined to criticize Park Police on Barry's behalf, except to raise the question of what Barry could have possibly done during the traffic stop to justify a stalking charge—one that requires establishing a pattern of behavior: "I don't know how the officers decided that an offense happened in their presence that would allow them to arrest rather than investigate."

Asked about the charge might affect Barry's probation for federal tax offenses, Cooke said that given his expectation that charges would be dropped, it would have "zero effect." A source in the U.S. Attorney's Office confirms that in most cases, charges that are not pursued by prosecutors generally don't affect a preexisting probation agreement.

Concluded Cooke: "This is unfortunate, but it's not a distraction of such a proportion that would keep Mr. Barry from attention to the business of the council and the District of Columbia."

On his way down the Wilson Building steps to the microphones, Barry's arm was held by his spiritual adviser of late, Bishop Glen Staples of Ward 8's Temple of Praise. Also standing behind him were chief of staff Bernadette Tolson, confidante Anthony Mohammed, Williams, and two other gentlemen.

A reporter asked Cooke why Barry couldn't speak for himself: "Because he's a got a lawyer who's a pain in the butt," he said. "It would be malpractice if I allowed him to do that."

Video courtesy of WRC-TV

LL has obtained the memo.

"Delonte [sic] has threatened me by telephone and in person on last Sunday," the memo reads. "I am requesting that he not gain entry into the Wilson Building tonight for the screening because I feel threatened by him."

In response, Watts-Brighthaupt wrote back to Barry's scheduler, Donna Rouse. "Marion has literally lost his mind," she writes. "He has falsely accused Delonta and publicly embarrassed my daughter and me." She also refers to an incident where Barry, at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, "locked me out of his hotel room and canceled my flight." She refers also to "horrendous acts performed by Marion" witnessed by "neighbors, my family & friends and cameras in the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas."

Full e-mails after the jump.

June 30, 2009

Ron Collins
Assistant Secretary to the Council
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 2000

Dear Mr. Collins:

A gentleman by the name of Delonte (I do not know his last name) is coming to the CNN advance screening and panel discussion of CNN's Black in America 2 tonight. Delonte has threatened me by telephone and in person on last Sunday. He is scheduled to come with Donna Watts and her daughter. I am requesting that he not gain entry into the Wilson Building tonight for the screening because I feel threatened by him

I will point Delonte out to you or the police if he gains entry into the building.

I thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call on [REDACTED].

Sincerely,

Marion Barry
Councilmember, Ward 8

Cc: Chairman Gray
Cynthia Brock-Smith

And this is what Watts-Brighthaupt wrote back to Rouse:

Ms. Donna -

Marion has literally lost his mind. My ex-husband/health caregiver has never threatened Marion. In fact the only telephone conversation made (that I am aware of) between the two was from Denver when -at my request- Delonta simply wanted to assist in my transportation back to DC from Denver's Dem Convention when Marion locked me out of his hotel room and canceled my flight last year. Hopefully one of your councilmembers will attest to Delonta's handling that situation as humane as could possibly be done given the situation.

I am saddened, thus not suprised at this unscrupulous act to control the treatments of my cancer. He has falsely accused Delonta and publicly embarrassed my daughter and me. I have several voicemails and letters from Marion stating quite the opposite where he has threatened Delonta. My neighbors, my family & friends and cameras in the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas have witnessed and have video of horrendous acts performed by Marion.

Thank you for this memo. Though much may not come of this, he is strongly advised to seek proper council.

Most kindly!
Donna