Beatty to resign

Christine Beatty will resign Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News DETROIT -- Christine Beatty announced this morning that she will resign her position as Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's Chief of Staff. Beatty made the announcement through her attorney Elliot Hall, first reported by WXYZ-TV (Channel 7). Hall stated the resignation may not go into effect for a couple of weeks. Hall also said that Beatty would not be making any further statement about her resignation. When asked if Beatty had officially resigned, mayoral spokesman James Canning said that "no letter has been submitted." Beatty, Kilpatrick's chief of staff and an old friend from high school, has been the center of a sexual scandal involving her and the mayor. Both Kilpatrick and Beatty swore under oath in an earlier trial that they have never been involved in an affair. However, scores of text messages between Beatty and Kilpatrick -- dating back to 2002 -- seem to contradict their denials. Mayoral spokesman James Canning was terse and tight lipped when he appeared at Detroit City Hall this morning, deflecting questions from reporters who wanted to know if Kilpatrick would appear at work today. "The mayor doesn't have a public schedule today," said Canning, who has been officially running the city during Kilpatrick's absence. Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams would not respond to the same question. Sharon McPhail, Kilpatrick's general counsel, confirmed that she hadn't had a chance to read the text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty, but said she thought the mayor would survive the ongoing scandal and "won't face any criminal charges." "I'd be awfully surprised if there are any criminal charges from what I'm hearing," McPhail said. "When the facts are known, this is going to be a blip on the screen of all the wonderful things that he's done for the city." McPhail said she had spoken with the mayor several days after news of the affair broke. "He was all about business," said McPhail, who said Kilpatrick urged her to "just get the job done." McPhail said Kilpatrick indicated he had talked with his staff and was "very regretful" about the current situation.