harris' office was raided on the same day. >> everyone's waiting to see what jeffrey thompson is already retained some counsel and who is the largest contractor in the city and that is over $300 million. it might go to the practices of government. >> and harris did communications and charging documents say in one instance, she was reimbursed $44,000 in contributions to gray, who was identified as candidate a in the documents, wisdom and sarah, and say that she was reimbursed by someone named as co-conspirator one and that is some know in business with her and they don't name that person specifically and jeffrey thompson's name doesn't appear on the court documents and that were released in an information document and that is how they went down and harris is scheduled to appear here in federal court at 1:00. back to you. >> thank you. >> >>> and no more pay tow play. that is what they saying from corporations and supporters delivered 30,000 signatures to the board of elections headquarters yesterday. they want the issue brought to the voters. the initiative will be placed on the november

meanwhile you'll remember jeffrey thompson's home and office were raided in march by the fbi. we're told harris' office was also raided the same day. thompson's nfl not mentioned in court documents -- thompson's name was not mentioned in court documents today. the court documents filed today indicate there could be a plea agreement tomorrow. a federal court hearing has been scheduled for 1:00 tomorrow. matt ackland, fox 5 news. >> to talk more about what today's charges mean for the investigation into gray's 2010 campaign fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin here. how does this differ from the other people who have been charged? >> brian, it differs in a very major and significant way. it's because it has too do with what was being alleged as a shadow campaign -- to do with what was being alleged as a shadow campaign which is a fancy term for saying there were contributions received and expenditures made and they weren't recorded and that was a separate campaign unto itself and second it has to do with jeffrey thompson probably -- this is my assumption, getting people to make c

$653,800, came from wealthy businessman, jeffrey thompson. there was no evidence or testimony in court today that mayor gray knew about the illegal shadow campaign. he wasn't talking to reporters. his press person had this to say. >> is his position the same as it has always been? not going to comment on this or is position as it was earlier that they didn't know about any of in this. >> this? >> there's no comment. even with these new developments. >> he had no comment. >> harris as part of a plea agreement, she collected contributions from 16 people who didn't have the maximum $2,000 to give. she says jeffrey thompson kicked back the sums to those people. that money came to more than $40,000. one source close to the investigation told me today over the past two, he may have contributed more than a million dollars to national and local campaigns. the building today, some d.c. council members had this reaction. >> people don't know what to expect next. i think it is a waiting game to see if jeff thompson next, is somebody else next? >> they h

do you have any sense of when perhaps this could happen against jeffrey thompson? >> no. again, at any time. i mean, how do they operate? do you call his attorney? brendan sullivan. one of the best attorneys in this town. does not like to plea bargain. he likes to go to trial. but given what was laid out in court today, they do come in to witness this kind of thing. they say jeff thompson doesn't have much of a chance. he has to plea. he has to bargain. someone else pointed out, what does he have to offer prosecutors? the answer, jeffrey thompson might be able to tell them what they need to hear about mayor vincent gray. >> it's hard to wrap your head around all of it. we are waiting for a press conference. anymore sense of what was involved in this actual plea deal? >> reporter: well, you know, as always with these pleas. there's a lot more they could have hit her with. the total sum in terms of those contributions is $44,000. my sources tell me between the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, the federal and local contributions from jeff thompson, we might be talking about a millio

she said jeffrey thompson kicked back the sums to those people. that money came to more than $40,000. >> tonight, jeany harris is free. she is looking at two felony charges. according to my sources, she won't do any prison time as part of the plea bargain. this is bruce johnson reporting live for 9news now. >> after today's developments in court, we heard directly from the district's top prosecutor, u.s. attorney. >> in 2010, the mayoral campaign was compromised by back room deals, secret payments, and a flood of unreported cash. >> and federal prosecutors say this is not over. their investigation keeps going. >>> the verison center will be shining brighter down in chinatown. today the d.c. council unanimously approved emergency legislation to allow more animated signs on the exterior of verison center. allows the owners to seek perms to install up to nine new signs and digital displays. ted released a statement in the last hour thanking the council. he says the new signs will improve the arena and increase tax revenue for the city. >>> and the co

executive who was paid, rather, as a consultant for the gray campaign and is also closely link to -- jeffrey thompson and he's under investigation by the feds for months now. the home and office were raided the same day as harris' office. thompson has not been charged with with any crimes. >>> the washington monument could be closed until 2014, thanks to last year's east coast earthquake and the national park service is accepting bids to repair the monument and they hope that work will start this september. fox 5s karen gray houston has more. >> reporter: the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the nation's capitol last august gave tourists at the top of the washington monument quite a scare. they ran down in a panic. no one was hurt, but, as structural engineers with no fear of heights found, damage was done. >> i don't think we found that the damage is any worse than we anticipated. the ultimate challenge in fixing the washington monument is the height of the damage. >> reporter: up near the top of the 555-feet plus structure into the missing mortar. marble panels with cracks and there is water dam

she's also closely linked to contractor and fundraiser jeffrey thompson. he has been under investigation by the feds for months. his home and office were raided the same day as harris' office. he has not been charged, but fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin says this charge may be bad news for him. >> everybody is waiting to see with jeffrey thompson who has already retained counsel and who is the largest contractor in the city, one contract the medicaid contract, is over $300 million. so this goes beyond just campaign-related things. it might actually go to the practices of government. >> mayor vincent gray has not made any public statements about the charge against harris. >>> no more pay to play, that's what a large group of d.c. residents of saying about the ability candidates have to collect campaign contributions from corporations. today 30,000 signatures were delivered to the board of elections in support of initiative 70 putting the fate of corporate contributions in the hands of voters. fox 5's acquisition hacks more. fox 5 -- matt ackland has mo

she's known to have close ties with jeffrey thompson. on's home and office and harris' office were raided by the fbi on the same day in march and gray's term is clouded by allegations of fraud since the beginning, refusing to comment on campaign workers going to jail and this is the political analyst. >> i don't so how the mayor is happy about this and it will be interesting to see if he gives the same explaining as which is i can't say anything about this and i will have to continue to be mayor. this is not good news for the mayor in any shape or form and his campaign paid him in 2010, and people will say what did she do for your campaign? >> and we believe there is going to be plea-bargain in this case. harris is expected to appear in federal court at 1:00 this afternoon. >> thank you, melanie. >>> whole foods might be setting up shop in prince georges county. officials approved a plan to rezone an area near route 1 in riverdale. the owner wants to build a housing, and whole foods place in that like. the store won't open for at least tw

jane clark harris was an associate of jeffrey thompson.mpson is the prominent businessman and contractor who is already being investigated for his ties in contributions to several local politicians including d.c. mayor vincent gray. harris is due in court tomorrow. bruce johnson has been following this whole corruption thing from start to finish. this is a bombshell. >> this is amazing. you may not know the name jean harris, but you do know the name by now of jeffrey thompson. his house was raided late last year by fbi. this comes very close to the mayor because this involves his campaign. we're talking three charges, two federal, conspiracy charge and fraud and false statement charge against jeannie harris. those are felonies. she apparently has agreed to some kind of deal with prosecutors. that's why they filed an information and not an indictment. it's the third charge that we're looking at here because that involves what goes on locally. it's a misdemeanor charge, but apparently what prosecutors are saying is jean harris got money from

o'malley donated thousands of dollars to a veteran's fund to offset contributions he received from jeffrey thompsonompson is accused of helping to fund a shadow campaign for vincent gray during the 2010 election. president obama also recently returned contributions from thompson. >>> and today congress will look at an issue that could shake the future of washington's skyline. a house committee will hold a hearing to look at whether the district should ease restriction on how tall buildings can be. supporters say allowing taller buildings could spur development in neighborhoods and boost d.c.'s tax space o. points say tall buildings could take away from the city's historical character. what do you think? change the rules or leave them alone. that's the poll question today. head to the "news4 today" page on facebook and weigh in on that. >>> students in d.c. no longer have to follow the rules of the "no child left behind" law. the obama administration granted a waiver to the district yesterday exempting students from the 2014 deadline. instead, the school system hopes to have 73% of the students prof

co-conspirator and we're not reporting that and remember, there is a relationship with harris and jeffrey thompson, but thompson's name has not been brought up at this point and so far, they motioned no names and mentioned this person as a co- conspirator and there is person planned this as well and we don't know the name of that person either. >> all right, no comment from the mayor. matt ackland, see you at 6. >> all right. >>> the man charged with planning to use the planes to bomb the pentagon. the capitol is planning to plead guilty to two charges and according to documents filed today, the lawyers for the suspect entered a ploy hearing for him to plead guilty to the charges and includes a seven- year prison sentence. >>> the faulkier sheriff's office is investigating the suspicious death of a newspaper reporter found inside a burning home. the body was found inside the house yesterday morning. someone driving by saw smoke and called 911. the sheriff's office is calling her death a homicide but the medical examiner has not ruled on what caused her death and greenlaw worked for the winchester

harris is known to have close ties with jeffrey thompson, he's a businessman and prominentsm government contractor, and he c has been under investigation for many esmonths as well. thompson's home and office and harris's office were raided byby the fbi on the very same day in march. >> everybody's waiting to see with jeffrey thompson, who has already retained counsel, andune who is the largest contractor in the city, one contract, the medicaid contract is over $300 million so this goes beyong oejust campaign related things. it might actually go to the practices of government. >> reporter: harris is the third person connected to gray's 2010 campaign to plead guilty to making illegal payments. the court documents were released and some was called an information document, that cannot be filed without con extent -- consent. harris will be in federal court at 1:00 today. >> thank you very much. >>> also in the district, house committee is scheduled to vote honor a bill that would ban abortions in dc after 20 weeks of pregnancy. it's being pushed by the nation right to life committee. the bil

news4 sources say that person is businessman jeffrey thompson who has not been charged. the u.s. attorney's office says the shadow campaign deceived voters and it will continue the investigation. >> the shadow campaign was entirely off the books. financed with secret corporate money so that d.c. voters had no idea who was influencing them at the ballot box. >> harris said neither she nor the co-conspirator devised the shadow campaign but refused to say who did. mayor gray has denied any wrongdoing. >>> the d.c. council is now on summer recess but managed to pass several measures before going on break. one measure includes new regulations for the taxi cab industry. taxis will be required to have gps technology and credit card machines by the end of this year to avoid inflated rates. the d.c. council approved a bill that allows police to use breathalyzers again. council members also agreed that car owners can be held responsible for traffic camera tickets no matter who was driving the car and verizon center got approval to install nine new monitors to modernize its billboards. >>>

news 4 sources say that's businessman jeffrey thompson who has not been charged. harris said neither she nor the co-conspirator devised the shadow campaign but refused to say who did. >>> the battle over marriage equality in maryland is coming to your tv. >> my name is candice quinn. >> shenoa quinn. we have four children. >> marylanders for marriage equality released an ad featuring residents expressing why they support this full's referendum. opponents gathered enough signatures to force a referendum in november. in may a poll found 57% of likely voters said they would uphold the law. >>> the u.s. episcopal church is the biggest church in the country to approve blessing same-sex unions. the house of deputies gave final approval yesterday. the service is not considered a marriage ceremony. that's because marriage requires the additional involvement of civil authorities and many states do not allow same-sex marriage. the episcopal church has 2 million members in the u.s. >>> it's now 5:37. the strange circumstances surrounding the death of a virginia reporter that

clark harris pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and she has close ties to businessman jeffrey thompson. several city council members have received subpoenas asking for information about contributions linked to thompson. and some council members have called for the mayor to step down. >>> 9 news now will be covering every new development in the story. during the day you can get updates by going to our website wusa9.com on your computer or your mobile device. also you can follow us on twitter. our handle is wusa9. and of course join the conversation by visiting our facebook page. >>> a man accused of a murder in frederick, maryland has been arrested in ohio. police say that brandon thomas brown stabbed a man to death on july 3. investigators tracked brown to his hometown of stiewpenville, -- stiewbenville -- stubinville, ohio. that's when officers arrested him. >>> the latest effort to repeal president obama's health care law is on its way to the senate, and it is expected to die, however, a very quick death. yesterday the republican-led house approved a measure to repeal the affordable

local and federal offices including to mayor grey's campaign, meanwhile, you will remember jeffrey thompson's home and office, were raided in march by the fbi, we are also told that harris' office was raided on the same day, thompson's name was not mentioned in court documents today but the court documents did go on to mention, a coconspirator, that reimbursed harris after she would help donate to campaigns in names of other people. in the case of the donations to mayor grey's campaign, the court documents reveal, harris was reimbursed $44,000. brian the court papers released today are called an information documents which means a plea agreement has likely been made, harris will be in federal court, tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. >> matt, tonight edge on virginia another animal was slashed at a barn near frying pan park. fairfax county police tell fox 5 it happened over the weekend inside a barn they believe it happened between 8:00 p.m. saturday night and 10:00 a.m. sunday morning this is not the first time an animal was slashed at this barn not the first time this horse was attacked. >> this is the

. >> jeffrey have i thompson has none been -- jeffrey thompson has not been charged.e harris is expected to get two and a half to three years in prison under searchingpr guidelines.is >>> another big story we're watching on, playing out onon capitol hill,. >> there is a vote in congress for try to overfurnish presiden- overturn president obama's healthcare plane. doug luzader has more. >> reporter: republicans in the house are just a few hours away from making this happen, own even -- even if democrats say it's an exercise in fertility.il >> reporter: republicans will d: what they have done many times e before, knock down dthe president's healthcare plan and henot surprisingly, democrats don't like it. >> we're not trying to make lawr we are making a political point. >> reporter: just making points, because after the house votes tr tkill obamacare, the effort wil surely stop with democrats who control control standing. >> reporter: one thing this doeg tfor republicans it gets modero democrats on the record supporting the plan.ti >> more politics on the hill. thank you. nk >>> another big

and harris is a close associate of jeffrey thompson, a businessman and a very prominent d.c. contractor. several city council members have received subpoenas asking for information about contributions that have been linked to thompson. we'll have the latest information on those developments on our website throughout the day wusa9.com and also during this evening's newscast. >>> there are concerns that a former district school may collapse. a fire swept through webb elementary school in northeast washington last night. the 1960 building is sandwiched between gallaudet university and the arboretum on mount olivet road in northeast. neighbors voiced their concerns that people were hanging out inside the former school. >> everybody observed some activity going on in the school. some of the neighbors who already have left to go to work this morning reported that they had seen some people in the school moving about and about 10:30, they said the fire erupted. >> it was a two-alarm fire and the cause is still being investigated. >>> it could be 2014 before visitors to the nation's c

jeffrey thompson contributed $38,000 has ties to jeannie clark harris, a woman who was charged in the shadow campaign. the mean was donated to a veteran's charity. >>> following the news alert following a general services administration already embarrassed by a major spending scandal. the administration is dealing with a second incident. the inspector general found more than a quarter million was spent on an awards ceremony in november of 20 twin. and that one day event took place in crystal city. members of congress are outraged about the wasteful spending. >> and what is incredible is this quarter of a million dollar one-day conference spent a total of $20,578 for 4,000 drum sticks. >> the award ceremony took place after the agency had spent nearly $1 million on a conference for employees in las vegas. the revelation about the vegas conference led to a major shakeup at the agency. >>> the news edge on maryland now. pepco's performance during last month's derecchio was under a microscope. the company was blasted from state lawmakers, customers in the audience who were angry and many

. >> we know, or we have been told that your campaign also accepted donations from jeffrey thompson. >> you know what? let me speak to that a little bit. when i read the story the first time that every council member but one, i was smug reading the story thinking it must be me. and since it named another council member, i called my treasurer and i said, is there somebody, i don't know who this man was, apparently in 2009, he sent in a check that was valid with all the information that is supposed to be provided to my treasurer and my treasurer deposited it. that's the extent of his contribution. >> isn't that going to be the mayor' defense that he couldn't keep track? >> $600,000? no. no. i don't think so. i just, it just seems implausible to me. >> thanks so much for joining us. >> that's for sure. very sad day. >> we appreciate your time. anita. >> meantime, folks in the district spent their day cleaning up after last night's storms. caused flooding and problems in the morning commute. surae chin is live in northwest washington with more on the cleanup. some of the pictures of the

news4 sources identify that person as jeffrey thompson, another target of the probe who has not beenrged. harris said that neither she nor the co-conspirator devised the scheme. the u.s. attorney who said that the campaign deceived the voters said that the investigation is continuing. >> the shadow campaign was entirely off the books, financed with secret corporate money. so the voters had no idea. >> reporter: the mayor said he had done nothing wrong but on advice of his lawyer, gray has been saying no comment. tom sherwood, news4. >>> the family of joe paterno said that the football coach did not take part in a cover up for jerry sandusky. the family said he was a master deceiver. this comes ahead of a report from an fbi director who will release his findings on thursday. a jury convicted jerry sandusky of sexually abusing 10 boys. >>> a father and son are accused of sexually assaulting two underage girls. the girl was brought to a house last month. his your got the girls drunk and the men took turns assaulting them for hours. a woman claiming to be a relative of the suspect answer

only after and that's this year, only after they rated jeanny's home and the offices of jeffrey thompsonr boss who funded that shadow campaign. anita. >> it sounds like in such large amounts that the campaign had to chris cross with the vehicles in all of that. >> in one case, we found out today that the mayor's driver and suv that was transporting the mayor around was paid for not from official campaign dollars, but from invoices and checks from jeff thompson. >> when are we going to know who knew with what and at what point? >> absolutely. the fbi is the only one that can sort this out. the mayor says he didn't do anything wrong. others aren't so sure. the mayor isn't going to resign because three council members are asking him to. the mayor will step down if and when the u.s. attorney calls the man and tells him he is about to be indicted and they present a case. we're not at this point. >> and your sources say he's not going to change his mind. >> the name we have been hesitant. our sources confirmed the fbi and federal prosecutors want to talk to vernon hawkins. he is the guy who al

that person is businessman jeffrey thompson who has not been charged. the u.s. attorney says the shadow campaign deceived voters and it will continue the investigation. >> the shadow campaign was entirely off the books. financed with secret corporate money to d.c. voters had no idea who was influencing them at the ballot box. >> in an interesting moment in court, harris said neither she nor the co-conspirator devised the shadow campaign. mayor gray denied wrongdoing. >>> the mother of a northern virginia newspaper reporter found dead is looking for answers in her daughter's mysterious death. 48-year-old sarah greenhall died monday morning in the home she rented in upperville virginia went up in flames. she covered the frederick county government. greenhall was single and never married and had no children. her mother is devastated. >> i'm just overwhelmed with sadness. that's all i can tell you. coming back, i'm just so sad to think that her life is gone. and i don't know why. i don't know what they did. i don't know what happened. >> police are not saying why th

she's also a close associate of jeffrey thompson, the prominent businessman, contractor and fundraiser who is already under federal investigation. harris is expected to appear in court tomorrow. >>> you and your visitors from out of town won't be riding to the top of the washington monument any time soon. repairs might keep the landmark closed until 2014. you'll recall last year's earthquake did some significant damage. today the national park service said it's in the process of taking bids for who will do the repairs. they could take up to 18 months due to the complexity. >> the big challenge is getting skilled workers up to the highest levels of the washington monument, which is where the most severe damage occurred. >> to do their work crews will need to build scaffolding all around the monument. the price tag? right now they're looking at a cost of $15 million to fix it. >>> tonight a horse slashed a few months ago near a fairfax county park is recovering from wounds suffered in yet another slashing attack. the horse was cut over the weekend in a paddock on centreville road. it's t

. >>> jeffrey thompson, the man suspected of funding the shadow campaign for mayor gray, has left the accounting firm that he founded. a spokeswoman says thompson sold his stake to his partner. thompson's home and office were raided in march as part of the investigation. he has not yet been charged but the associated press says two people familiar with the investigation have identified him as the source of the shadow campaign funds. >>> a sad morning for a local police department. former alexandria police sheriff james dunning has passed away. the 62-year-old was found dead in his south carolina home yesterday morning. alexandria police officials say he apparently died in his sleep. dunning was a vet van sheriff of alexandria when his wife was murdered more than eight years ago. officials are still trying to solve that case. e that case. >>> penn state's conspiracy of silence let jerry sandusky prey on young boys. that is at seesment of the inpersonal report from louis freeh. it says the university engaged in a total disregard for the safety and welfare of the child victims of assista

businessman jeffrey thompson who has not been charged arranged to have contributions to the gray campaignmbursed by a d.c. businessman. and with the illegal money? >> she also purchased more than $100,000 worth of campaign materials that were identical to the official

the associated press says two people familiar with the investigation identified businessman jeffrey thompson as the source of the funds. thompson has not been charged. harris is expected to get two and a half to three years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. a sentencing date has not yet been set. >>> to fauquier county, virginia where the shiive's office wants to know who killed a report forth winchester star newspaper. 4-year-old sarah greenhalgh's body -- 48-year-old sarah greenhalgh's body was found in a burning house yesterday. >>> coming up next on fox 5 morning news, his meltdown made headlines. >> now, at least one expert says a pilot's on the job breakdown may have been brought on by something many of us deal with every day. also ahead, the family of joe paterno stands by their claim that he knew nothing of the controversy. but they can be really well thexpensive.ted a puppy, so to save money i just found them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save yo

gene clark harris who also goes by the name of ugena harris was an associate of jeffrey thompson, the prominent businessman and contractor who is already being investigated for his ties and contributions to several local politicians, including mayor vincent gray. >>> police in gaithersburg are sevenning for a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman near a public pool. this was around 5:00 last night. the woman was grabbed at green farm park. she told police the man dragged her behind the pool and sexually assaulted her. police have not released a description of the suspect. they would only say he was wearing something green. if you have any information, police call montgomery county police. >>> montgomery county leaders are taking steps to try and fix its problem with pepco. the county council actually plans to ask the state for permission to get electricity from some place else. county council president discussed the plan during a meeting with reporters on his assessment of pepco's response to the power outages. >> pepco's performance on every level was unacceptable. the length of

all funded by her associate, jeffrey thompson.ruce johnson has the latest from the federal courthouse in northwest. >> even after today's court appearance, mayor vincent gray has yet to be implicated. the local businessman raised thousands upon thousands of dollars for the mayor and other elected officials, he was certainly implic

. >> two people familiar with the investigation identified businessman jeffrey thompson as a source of the funds. his managed care company has the city's single largest contract worth $322 million a year, in course, harris says her -- court, harris said her co-conspirator did not want to know about thomas. harris and her co-conspirator have been making straw donations together since 2001. >> thanks, mel. >>> in capitol hill, republicans in the house are set to vote, hold a vote on repealing the president's healthcare law. as doug luzader explains, it is a symbolic vote. >> reporter: republicans in the house are probably just hours away from making this happen. even if democrats say it's an exercise in futility. there may be nothing really new happening understand this dome today, but on the house floor, republicans will do what they have done many times before, knock down the president's healthcare plan, and democrats don't like it. >> we're not trying to may law, we're making political points. >> reporter: just making points, because even after the house votes to kill obamacare, the e

the associated press says two people familiar with the investigation did identify businessman jeffrey thompson as the source of the funds. his home and office and harris' office were raided by the fbi on the same day. thompson has not been charged. no evidence has been presented so far that shows mayor gray was directly involved in the shadow campaign. he would not speak to reporters yesterday but his spokesperson said the mayor will address the controversy at his weekly press conference this morning. >> thank you. >>> to fauquier county, virginia where the sheriff's office is investigating the death of a reporter for winchester star newspaper as a homicide. 48-year-old sarah greenhalgh's body was found in a burning home yesterday. the victim worked as a free lance report fore years in addition to her job at the winchester star writing riting he was sentenced to 20 to 66 years in police font rape of a washington woman back in 1981. now, officials say a search of the fbi's dna database turned up a match to another man who has previously been convicted of a sex offense. x >>> a congressional hou

the guy, jeffrey thompson, the businessman who gave $650,000 in illegal money to his campaign seems tohe government. there's at least a fourth person involved in all this. it just is not credible to me or to a lot of other people, including the "washington post" editorial page, which i have nothing to do with, another voice expressing views, it's not credible to us he didn't know anything about this. it's hard for him to govern and be a politician and be a leader of the city without explaining something, or at least saying, you know, more clearly what his position is on all this. >> uh-huh. difference between what may be smart legally and what may be smart or wise to do in terms of the relationship with the public and all that. robert mccartney, we're out of time, unfortunately. we thank you for taking some time to provide more insight into this and we look forward to seeing you back here soon. >> thanks, tony. >> we'll see you again. >>> it is 40 minutes now after 7:00. 20 minutes before 8:00 on this friday morning. still ahead, a mystery solved. >> after nearly a million views online

that january 10th secret meeting harris came after harris huddled in december with businessman jeffrey thompson. >> mayor gray thursday could find comment. >> what was the meeting? what can you tell you about that? >> i really can't. there are lots of things i would like to address at this stage. my attorney advised me that's the best course of action and i would be well advised to follow that. >> the scandal is disrupting city politics. there are new rumors any day. so far doreen and jim, those rumors are not true. >> he's not been charged with anything yet, but the pressure is relentless. some citizens he wants to tell us, but he can't for legal reasons, so we all wait and probe. sees what's next. >> drip, drip, drip. >> yeah. >>> thank you, tom. >>> a scathing report today from investigators looking at penn state's reaction. a the report that official didn't take action because they feared bad publicity and the university had a striking lack of concern for abuse victims. news4's chris gordon has the latest. >> reporter: it was a 7-among-long investigation into more than 430 people were inter

jeffrey thompson sold his stake in the accounting firm he founded. a spokeswoman for thompson would not comment on the selling price or why thompson decided to sell out of this. >>> now despite everything going on at the wilson building these days the council is focusing on important issues. today the interim chairman will hold a round table discussion on education. he has made et no secret he was opposed to the takeover of the school's system in the mayor's office back in 2007 and is dit pointed with the pace of -- disappointed with the pace of education reform right now. police -- >> police comb through a gainesville, virginia apartment looking for clues in the homicide of a newspaper reporter. yesterday authorities walked out of the apartment with the t- shirt. a blackberry and a bag of shredded paper. however they're not saying how those items are linked to the death of 48-year-old rather sarah greenhalgh. she was found dead in her home on monday and authorities are awaiting autopsy results to determine how she died. >>> two weeks from today ameri

o'malley donated thousands of dollars to a veteran's fund to offset contributions he received from jeffrey thompson. thompson is accused of helping fund a shadow campaign for gray during the 2010 election. there's no evidence of any wrongdoing on the behalf of o'malley or his campaign. and that campaign scandal has a majority of d.c. residents thinking mayor gray should resign. 54% of washingtonians say the mayor should step down. just 37% say he should stay and 9% say they have no opinion. three d.c. council members have also said that gray should resign. his supporters say any calls for his resignation are premature because he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. >>> we are learning in george zimmerman's own words what happened the night he shot and killed trayvon martin. >> he started bashing my head into the concrete sidewalk. i was -- as soon as he broke my nose, i started yelling for help. because i was disoriented. >> in his first interview zimmerman tells fox news the unarmed teenager initiated the deadly confrontation. he says during a fight, both him and martin reached for his gun. he

remember, there's been a lot of talk about jeffrey thompson. we have to remember that harris said in federal court that thompson was the source of the fund, she didn't say him by name, but there was somebody else who hatched this plan. that's what we're trying figure out, what is that somebody else, responsible for coming up with that shadow campaign? back to you. >> the plot thickens. thank you, melanie. >>> new this morning, the race for virginia senate seat is heating up. democratic candidate tim kaine is raising more money an allen. but allen supporters are stepping up, a conservative outside group is spending $1.1 million on new tv ads. >>> for the last month, illinois congressman jesse jackson, jr. has not been seen. his office is saying he's getting medical treatment for a mood disorder. but his staff isn't giving out other details and won't say where he is. the chicago democratic took a leave of absence june 10th. at the time his staff said he was battling emotional problems. >>> the house votes to repeal health care reform. republicans

jeffrey thompson, the man suspected of funding the shadow campaign has left the accounting firm he founded. a spokeswoman says he sold his stake to his partner. his home and office were raided in march. he has not yet been charged, but the associated press says two people familiar with the investigation have identified him as the source of the shadow campaign funds. >>> on the campaign trail now, president obama heads to virginia for a two-day trip. he'll stop in virginia beach today, followed by hampton and row. tomorrow in the richmond area and then to fairfax county. >>> former new york city mayor rudy giuliani is also in virginia. he's campaigning for mitt romney, along with virginia lieutenant governor bill bowling. >>> mitt romney could be close to picking his running mate now and rumors are swirling that topping the list is former secretary of state condoleezza rice. she is on the top of the drugbe report. it's a controversial news source, true, but has a history of being right. the report says she could be romney's pick, but she has repeatedly said she's not interested in the job.

. >>> jeffrey thompson, the man suspected of funding the shadow campaign for mayor gray, has left the accounting firm he founded. a spokeswoman said thompson sold his stake to his partner. thompson's home and office were raided in march in the investigation. he has not yet been charged, but the associated press says two people familiar with the investigation have identified him as the source of the shadow campaign funds. >>> the man who ran mayor adrian fenty's reelection campaign in 2010 is reacting to the corruption scandal. earlier today on fox 5 news at 5:00 i asked bill lightfoothills reaction and he told me it's some -- lightfoothills reaction and he told me it's some -- lightfoot his reaction and he told me it's some surprise. >> now it taints everything that happens while he's in office and put in a broader context, we've already had two council members have to resign due toil activity. now we have the mayor -- to illegal activity. now we have the mayor under a cloud. >> reporter: lightfoot said he has not talked to fenty about the recent developments in the corruption investi

businessman jeffrey thompson who was alleged have to have written the checks but did not come up with the scheme. that person was not revealed in court, but there's no indication that gray had any knowledge of this plot. we asked a spokesperson. here's what he had to say. >> as he relayed yesterday to the "washington post," he had no comment. >> reporter: again no comment? even with the new developments? >> he had no comment as of yesterday to "the washington post." >> people don't know what to expect next. i think it's just a waiting game to see if jeff -- to see is jeff thompson next? somebody else next? >> we have expectations and people should for the be circumventing them. it's disturbing when that happens. >> reporter: get this. this is a third person so far connected to gray's campaign who has pled guilty in federal court. but this corruption scandal could be much bigger than we ever anticipated. mayor gray is likely not the only politician to have benefited from this kind of corruption. the u.s. attorney says it may even go to a national level. we'll have that side of the stor

. >> jeffrey thompson, the man suspected of this left the accounting firm he founded. he sold his steak to ralph bazillo. his home and office were raided because of the investigation. two people familiar with the investigation identified him as the source of the shadow campaign funds. >> in 2010, the mayoral campaign was compromised by backroom deals, secret payments, and a flood of unreported cash. >> the frustration level d.c. r each time another person is charged in this campaign corruption investigation and the one person we haven't heard from yet is adrian fenty. he joins us now with some more about this. thank you very much for being with us tonight. what is your reaction to this? >> and this is surprise, disappointment and a little we told you so. i'm surprised because i have known mayor gray for a long period of time and is trying to do the right thing. on the other hand, i think he got carried away, or others in the campaign did and engaged in corrupt activities and that tainting. >> you have spoke with adrienne fenty? >> we haven't spoke about this incident a

harris is a close associate of jeffrey thompson. thompson is the prominent businessman and contractor who is already being investigated for his ties and contributions to several local politicians, including mayor gray. >>> now that most pepco customers have their electricity back, the talk is turning to how to prevent another massive outage in the future. d.c. councilman mary cheh has one idea. delia goncalves is live at the wilson building with more on that. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, mike. mary cheh says we should at least consider underground power lines. yes, it is costly. yes, it is very time consume bug she says it could in fact keep our power on during a major storm. isn't that what we all want nowadays. her legislation would start with an assessment as to the best location to bury these lines and then it would require pepco pay for this whole underground process. but critics say underground wires are not the solution. the answer comes with regulation. >> it could be a variety of things. this is just one

jeffrey thompson is the alleged financial backer in the scheme. he's not been charged but his home and office were raided by the phish. so if prosecutors say the mayor's campaign was corrupt, what about his administration? >> i think it's unfair to say our administration. i have to distinguish between the campaign and the administration. >> i can't tell you how sad i am to come to this position but as a matter of healing the district, i think it's the step we have to take. >> reporter: mary cheh, a long- time supporter of the mayor backed the mayor despite opposition from her own constituents. she along with muriel bowser and david cantania are the council members now calling on the mayor to step down from officer. we'll have his reaction coming up at 6:30. andrea, back to you. >> delia goncalves reporting live outside the wilson building this morning. of course 9news now will be covering every new development in this story. during the day get updates by visiting wusa9.com on your computer or mobile device. you can also follow us on twitter. our h

jeffrey thompson who allegedly written the checks but did not come up with the scheme. there's no indication that mayor gray had any knowledge of the plot. here what is -- here's what his public relations spokesperson said yesterday. >> as he relayed yesterday to "the washington post," he had no comment. >> reporter: again no comment even with the new developments? >> he had no comment as of yesterday to "the washington post." >> people don't know what to expect next. i think it's just a waiting game to see if is jeff thompson next. >> people should -- it's disturbing when it happens. >> reporter: a u.s. attorney released a statement saying this is not the only instance of corruption. it goes far beyond 2010. just how far back this corruption goes here in d.c., that coming up at 5:30. andrea, mike, back to you. >> thanks, delia. >>> well, a massachusetts man linked to a terror plot here in washington plans to plead guilty next week. rezwan ferdaus has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. they say he was plotting to fly remote controlled model planes packed with explo

businessman, jeffrey thompson.son made donations to the campaigns of previous mayors, adrian fenty and tony williams, as well as lynn do crop. donations were made with the exception of tommy wells and today, one of those council members said it's time for the mayor to step aside. >> there are enough convictions of senior people within his campaign and enough allegations and evidence to suggest that our democratic institutions who were seriously underminded by a shadow campaign off the books. and whether the mayor knew or not, he's the beneficiary of that illegal activity and i think he should resign. >> councilwoman also calls for the mayor's resignation. she joins us live in the studio. thanks for joining us. why the call for the mayor's resignation at this time? >> i don't think we can tolerate this scandal and the dimensions of what was recently revealed are too great in terms of undermining the election. and i do think that while i respect mayor gray very much and i came to admire him very much when he was chai

co-conspirator one is businessman jeffrey thompson who allegedly pro-vladed the shadow campaign funds and then tried to cover up the shadow payments when prosecutors began investigating in 2011. the guilty plea and court disclose can you're puts more legal pressure on thompson who has so far denied wrongdoing, but puts even more political pressure on gray as this scheme unfolds. in one important moment harris told the court neither she nor co-conspirator one, thompson, came up with the shadow plan. she said it was someone else. she didn't name. the guilty plea follows after the felony guilty pleas of two other gray campaign operatives. howard brooks and thomas gore both pled guilty to paying undisclosed checks to 2010 minor candidate suleiman brown to keep up his attacks on then mayor fenty. that investigation led to the shadow campaign. mayor vincent gray who initially was saying he had done nothing wrong now says on the advice of his attorney nothing, he has no comment. at the federal court, i'm tom sherwood, news 4. >> tom, are investigators giving any indications about where this

she's -- she also has ties to businessman jeffrey thompson, a prominent fund raiser who is already under investigation. >>> a judge has ruled anne arundel county executive john leopold must stand trial. leopold had requested the case be thrown out. he was indicted in march on charges of misusing his police detail for personal and political gain. the accusations include having police look into political rivals. leopold's trial is set to begin september 4. >>> baltimore's public works department is trying to avert a potential disaster. they are asking people who get their water from the city to conserve as much as possible. public works crews have found weak spots in a 54-inch transmission main which carries water to howard and anne arundel counties. today workers are going to try to perform some tests to see what kind of repairs are needed and whether or not the entire main needs to be shut off. >>> there are some people in southwest virginia who still do not have power after the june 29 epic storm around here. to get relief some of them are going to jail. the county jail has been reopene

businessman jeffrey thompson who allegedly provided the schhadow campaign funds and then tried to cover up the payments when prosecutors began investigating in 2011. the guilty plea in court disclosure puts more legal pressure on thompson who so far has denied wrongdoing, but it puts even more political pressure on gray as this scheme unfolds. now jeanne harris disclosed one interesting fact in court today. she said neither she more co-conspirator one thompson came up with the shadow campaign idea. the big question is, who did? at the district court, tom sherwood, news 4. >>> so, tom, what does mayor gray have to say, if anything, about this today? >> reporter: when this all started mayor gray said he had done nothing wrong and hoped an investigation would clear his name. several months ago his attorney said to him, don't say anything. so the mayor now whenever you ask him any questions about this widening scandal of his campaign he says, i have no comment. my lawyer says i have no comment. i have no comment. but this is a lot of political pressure and the mayor who will hold a news con

but harris has a close tie with city contractor and well known fund-raiser jeffrey thompson. remember thompson's and harrison's -- harris' office and homes were searched by the phish on the same day. >> the 2010 shadow campaign was the hand work of a well financed conspiracy to funnel corporate money into federal and local elections. >> reporter: on wednesday the mayor did his best to separate what happened during his campaign from his work as mayor. but when asked if some think he's corrupt, gray said this. >> well, there are lots of people who probably will have that question. i know who i am. i get up in the morning every day and look in the mirror and i see somebody i respect. >> reporter: the last question for the mayor today was if he planned to finish his term. he said i have no plans to do otherwise. but council member david cantania spoke out saying the time is now for the mayor to step down. listen to this. >> his legitimacy as mayor is finished. these illegal contributions -- not a few contributions but these illegal shadow campaign underminded our entire democracy

politico is reporting the democratic national committee is returning $10,000 jeffrey thompson contributed to the dnc and the president's reelection efforts. >> we went from code yellow to code red today, temperatures in the triple digits again and we have a frontal system and you put the two together and get some big thunderstorms. the entire metro area under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9:00. there are many areas around the immediate metro area under a severe thunderstorm warning. check this lightning strike out we just captured a minute ago. boom, lightning five times hotter than the surface of the sun. you can have cloud-to-ground lightning, cloud to cloud. montgomery, the district, prince george's county, anne arundel county still lit up, severe thunderstorm warnings there, also howard county until 6:00. we'll zoom in. there's a couple storms that prompted the warnings. by far and away this is the heaviest storm right around lanham down to the south, pretty good storm up towards severna park 97 going out 50 and another storm out 50 towards chantilly. we'll zoom in. this storm in

they took money from jeffrey thompson, also. kwame brown, tommy wells. >> everybody has problems, but the paradigm has not changed. one of the things we need to talk about is really the election rules and laws and whether they can be altered to create a level transparent playing field. >> to be continued, thanks a lot, really appreciate it, good discussion. back to you. >>> come up the cost of getting the kids ready to go back to school. >> but up next a wrong-way driver causing terror on a busy highway. >> don't forget we are always on at www.wusa9.com. >>> some really scary moments for drivers in mississippi. this was video shot last week by a drive going north on the school -- a driver going north on the collins highway. see that other driver also going north on the other side of the road? witnesses tell police he was going the wrong way for miles and miles, whoa, until he smacked into somebody. that was kind of nasty. the suv is what he hit. the woman and her passenger in that suv walked away from the crash. the wrong-way dr