i might mention that kwame brown's staff is in there right now. they officially were terminated last night when kwame brown's regular nation was accepted by the council secretary. they're looking for new jobs or waiting to find out if the next chairman will keep them on board. back to you. >> bruce, in this plea deal, we're assuming that mr. brown is going to have to serve time. how much do you think? >> reporter: well, it might come as a surprise you to. i don't think he's going to serve any time. i've been talking to a lot of people close to this case. with the federal guidelines, he's looking at perhaps zero to six months but my sources say that it might even be part of the plea agreement that chairman kwame brown serves no time. it might be enough. it might have been enough for prosecutors just to get him out of office. we've noun seen they've done -- we've now seen they've done that. >> bruce johnson is continuing to follow the story. we'll have the latest information beginning on 9news now at 5:00 and our website wusa9.com. thank you, bruce.

city council chairman kwame brown is topping our news this afternoon. hello and thank you for joining us. i'm jc hayward. >>> well, it could be a first for a washington, d.c. corruption case. following his appearance in federal court this morning, kwame brown is expected to face additional charges in dng superior court late -- d.c. superior court later today. bruce johnson and delia goncalves are outside the district court. they bring us up to date on today's developments. delia, you're first. >> reporter: that's right. before qualm crow brown heads to -- kwame brown heads to d.c. superior court, he briefly spoke to reporters. he wrapped up his comments about 20 minutes ago. he was rather emotional and got visibly choken up when he apologized to his friends, family and neighbors for letting them down, he said. as expected the 41-year-old in court pled guilty to bank fraud in connection with for bank loans, one a $166,000 home equity loan which has since been paid back. and an $85,000 loan he used to buy that luxury boat. brown also pled guilty of mislea

city council under kwame brown has just finished a balanced budget. there's no indication that the city is unwieldy, or any problems going forward. what gives me problems, what gives me heart ache in the congress is to these matters. in fact, these investigations have never been brought up in a committee or on the floor. they are going after the district all right, but they are going after the district for id logical reasons. trying to keep us from spending our own money on matters of great importance to our own city, such as abortion for low income women. aimed only at the district of columbia to say that in the district of columbia, if you happen to be a woman living there, you can can't have an abortion after 20 weeks. it would only affect the district of columbia. here comes another member saying he is going to introduce another antichoice bill for the district of columbia. that's the problems we're having. not, you know, no member has said to me, boy, you are going to have problems getting statehood or voting rights because they know there is no

so kwame brown will come here to court. he'll stop in federal court first and come to superior court. one thing that was a bit different today than other hearings is that the chairman's attorney, fred cook, asked that the chairman be allowed to leave the area of the district of columbia. typically when they are awaiting sentence, they stay close to home. because of the media coverage. fred cook says that kwame brown wanted to leave the area just to get away from all of this. we'll have more tonight at 6:00. >> i'm curious your reaction. you were there when kwame brown said he didn't do any of this. he denied the allegations. what was your reaction listening to him speak today? >> it was very sad. probably talked to kwame brown three or four times a week, interviewed him a lot. had a close relationship with his staff. it was sad to see as he looked down, he shook his head at times while he was standing there in front of the judge. a lot of upset people, laura. people on the other side here saying, well this was bank fraud a

and kwame brown how this all went down. they denied the rumors circulating for several months, even years at this point. and then ultimately they admitted wrongdoing. so in this case kwame brown admit to bank fraud and he leaves the wilson building just like his colleague in shame. according to prosecutors brown lied about having a second job and extended tens of thousands of dollars to his income so he could get a home equity loan to buy a boat. we're told in exchange for his resignation, a misdemeanor charge stemming from his 2008 campaign will be thrown out. he stepped down officially from his position as chairman of the council in a closed door meeting with his colleagues yesterday. >> i convened the meeting. then we met in closed session and then kwame came in. he apologized to us because he has a deep institutional concern and personal connection to all of us. and then we talked among ourselves with him. all i can say this is extraordinarily emotional. i think i even had tears in myees. >> reporter: that's council mem

kwame brown suggested outside the u.s. district courthouse that somehow maybe he was singled out that, nobody else had ever been charged with this kind of campaign finance violation and that he stole no city or campaign funds, but the u.s. attorney said that these laws are in place so the voters know whether they can trust their politicians. >> do you think those voters would have elected mr. brown if they had known he had submitted fraudulent bank documents in 2005 and 2007 before the election? this is a man that controlled millions of dollars in the city budget. i think the way to answer that is how would you feel if we left him in office and a greater fraud was perpetrated upon the public down the road? >> the sense of entitlement by these individual has to stop. they are not entitled to that which does not belong to them. they are not entitled to break the law without repercussion. it is instead our citizens who are entitled. they're entitled to expect more from our public officials and we will continue to work to insu

we will not be skipping a beat. >> kwame brown is now the second d.c. council member to resign from office this year. ward 5's harry thomas was the first in the city's history. he'll soon be starting his 38 month prison sentence after pleading guilty to stealing more than $300,000 in city funds. >> individuals do find themselves at times in these situations, but to say the whole government is corrupt would be a mistake. i think we have a lot of very hard working individuals both elected and in government jobs and we will survive and will move forward. this is not an excuse, but it's not unique to washington. >> d.c. mayor vincent gray tweeted his reaction to the kwame brown story saying that he's shocked, saddened and disappointed by today's news. may o gray says he would never have -- mayor gray says he would never have imagined something like this >> the new acting city council chair mary cheh joins us live in our studios. thank you for being here. we saw your initial reaction in bob's story. now that you've had a little time to digest everything, wha

kwame brown's charge and resignation the talk of the town. some wonder what this means for the step as it fights for voting rights. fox 5's audrey barnes went out to get a pulse of the people. >> i'm shocked but not surprised. the way our poll politics are going now and especially -- politics are going now and especially d.c. politics it's going down one by one. i wonder who's next? >> reporter: that was the sentence we heard over and over again after the news broke d.c. councilman kwame brown was charged with one count of bank fraud. gabrielle opool has lived in d.c. 20 years and just got her u.s. citizenship in 2008. she says brown's charges go against everything she's learned about being a good citizen. >> you can't trust anybody. it's coming from the top. that's what shocked me the most. >> reporter: the allegations against brown don't appear to be related to his job as councilman, but they speak volumes about his character if proven true. some worry about how the repeated scandals are impacting the fight for d.c. statehood. >> it's not g

council chair kwame brown. he is expected to plead guilty to federal bank fraud charges and to campaign violations. those stemmed from his 2008 reelection campaign. >> investigators have not said if it will buy all charges in the case of a title are found wandering all alone in the hyattsville area last night. police said the child appears to be unharmed. >> also, a hearing to determine if the suspected east coast rapist will stand trial. aaron thomas's lawyer says he suffers hallucinations. >> finally, celebrities are flocking to the mitropoulos this morning for the annual superman celebration. >> it is a yearly festival in illinois that brings to the practice, artists, writers, and others with ties to the man of steel. a lot of supermen their. >> yes, there are. ♪ >> well, look at who is the winner in this competition. it looks a little fishy. workers from seattle's famous fish market took their act on the road. the lucky recipient of the fish throwing was this grizzly bear. they had them through the fish to

council chairman kwame brown charged with bank fraud.n from fellow council member. >>> a life saver. immediate the 8-year-old girl credited with saving her mom's life with a phone call. >>> coming up at 6:00, someone hacked into linkedin. the social network for professionals. we'll find out how users are already being impacted. thachts at 6:00, but i will see ♪ [ male announcer ] they were born to climb... born to leap, born to stalk, and born to pounce. to understand why, we journeyed to africa, where their wild ancestor was born. there we discovered that cats, no matter where they are... are born to be cats. and shouldn't your cat be who he was born to be? discover your cat's true nature. purina one. >>> 234ris copolice in colorado extreme nep took this photo, you can see, aed to sler not properly restrain and sitting next to a gas can belted into a car seat. neither the driver nor a 14-year-old passenger were wearing seat belts. the driver wars cited for no proof of insurance and with three counts of seat belt violations. >>> taco bel

chairman kwame brown is the fourth person charged by the u.s. attorney's office in the past six months. city council member harry thomas jr. resigned his seat after pleading guilty in january to stealing more than $350,000 in government money and filing false tax returns. he's been sentenced to 38 months in prison. last month, in a separate investigation involves mayor vincent gray's campaign, thomas gore, he's there, close friend of the mayor and assistant treasurer to the campaign pleepded guilty to breaking d.c. election laws and obstruction of justice. he destroyed a notebook containing records showing secret payments. two days later, another gray supporter, howard brooks, there he is, pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about making those secret payments. this has many wondering if the mayor is the next target of the u.s. attorney's office, which makes today's charges against kwame brown so important as chairman of the d.c. city council, brown is the next in line to be the mayor, if the mayor had to resign. but if brown resign,

the information document charges that person one who is kwame's brown opened a signed bank account for the campaign and then repeatedly made expenditures with the candidate's approval exceeding legal campaign limit. in january kwame brown had predicted the federal probe would find nothing improper about his 2008 campaign. >> you are totally innocent of any wrongdoing, other members of your campaign totally have done nothing wrong? >> i have done absolutely nothing wrong, bruce. >> reporter: other members of your campaign, your father, your brother? >> i don't think so. >> federal prosecutors wouldn't comment on the new charge today. kwame brown now the former council chairman was unavailable, but is expected to talk tomorrow after his appearance in federal court. the deal calls for brown to admit to a felony bank fraud charge from when he submitted false documents through industrial bank to acquire a home equity loan and buy a boat. meanwhile outside the council chairman's offices kwame brown's name has been taken down. his staff which numbers 20 or so people have also been terminated.

. >> straight ahead, kwame brown could be headed from council chambers to a prison cell. he's expected to plead guilty to two charges. it's friday, june 8, i am steve chenevey. >> i am cynne simpson. traffic and weather every ten minutes. first, meteorologist adam caskey. the warm weather begins. >> we made it into veins low 80's sister there around the beltway. today we will crank it up a few more degrees. topping out around 90 degrees on the weekend, 92 by sunday. 52 degrees in martinsburg right now and in winchester, 52. 54 in culpeper. is the timeline, 85 for the high temperature of around 3:00 or 4:00. it will be warm today, but still not humid. any, mighsunny and hot tomorrow, but with low humidity. you will notice an increase in the humidity with high temperatures around 91 degrees on sunday. another chance of rain on tuesday. >> wrapping up overnight construction including 66 westbound leaving the beltway pour gallows road. eastbound 66, green light between centreville and 495. in good shape is the dulles greenway and the dulles toll road. normal travel times betw

as for kwame brown, he has a court date set for tomorrow. in northwest, tom roussey reporting. >> kwame brown's resignation is the latest in a series of problems in d.c. government. earlier this year former councilman harry thomas jr. was sentenced to prison prison for embezzling city funds intended for a youth soccer program. two campaign aides to d.c. mayor vincent gray pleaded guilty to charges tied to the 2010 mayoral campaign. >> despite the turmoil surrounding brown's resignation it will be business as usual today at the wilson building. the panel will look at what the d.c. fire and ems department is doing to reduce overtime cost. >> vote 2012, first lady michelle obama will campaign today in northern virginia. she will meet with obama campaign volunteers from the manassas area. she will be at vfw post 1503 and dale city at 2:45 today. need a ticket to get inside. president obama will campaign in los angeles and las vegas today. mitt romney says that if he is elected, he will place his fortune in a blind trust. he would not know where

council chairman kwame brown has two court hearings scheduled today. excuse me. resigned wednesday after federal prosecutors charged him with bank fraud. but now he faces a count related to his 2008 campaign. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is live outside u.s. district court with more on this story. what's that about, delia? >> reporter: when we first heard about the bank fraud charge, we thought that would be. however, many folks were confused because we understand this campaign finance investigation has been ongoing for some time. finally we now know that kwame brown will have to answer to at least one charge in connection to his 2008 campaign for reelection for chairman of the city council. let's take a look at some video. we now know that kwame brown may avoid jail time for his plea and resignation from office. the 41-year-old faces federal bank fraud for inflating his income on a loan application so he could buy a boat. according to prosecutors, he allowed more than $230,000 from his 2008 campaign to be funled to his brother and $60,000 of that was no ac

kwame brown expected to talk today about stepping down.this is after he was charged with bank fraud. brianne carter is at the wilson building with details. >> good morning. we have heard no public comment from kwame brown after the resignation or about the charges. we expect we could hear from him later today. all this happened yesterday and he said that he had no comment but that he would be able to speak out today. he initially said that he would not resign his post as council chair, but that is what happened. in a letter to the council he said that he takes responsibility for his actions and goes on to apologize to d.c. residents. he is facing a charge of bank fraud for allegedly lying about his income on a loan application. is expected to be in federal court sometime tomorrow. again, we expect to hear from him sometime later today report. and live in northwest, brianne carter, abc 7 news. >> kwame brown is the second councilman within the past year to resign amid scandal. earlier this year, former councilman harry thomas jr. was senten

tonight kwame brown and the leadership of the d.c. government face an uncertain future after he pleads guilty to bank fraud and political campaign charges. >> sam ford has been covering this from the first break. he is live in the district. >> kwame brown emphasized he was not convicted of stealing anything. he left court today a disgrace to leader with no political future. >> another

in a few hours, kwame brown is expected to make his first court appearance.that is 11:00 this morning at federal court. then a few hours later he will head down the street to a d.c. superior court where he is expected to make another court appearance later this afternoon. brown stepped down from his top spot on the d.c. council earlier this week. now city leaders are trying to reassure residents that the d.c. government is still working well. understand brown is facing two separate charges. that is what he will be in court for today. separate charges and separate cases. this is the latest in a string of issues surrounding the d.c. government. former council member harry thomas is headed to prison for theft. two campaign aides of mayor gray has pleaded guilty to felonies. it's not clear as to how much time brown could receive, if any. we will have to watch how this plays out in court this afternoon. in the meantime, we know the council is moving forward. they have scheduled a meeting for next week to appoint an interim council chair. brianne carter reporting,

kwame brown says he'll have a formal statement tomorrow. his staff says he told them he'll be in court tomorrow, and the council will neat about a week to replace him with a temporary chairman. here at the district building, tom sherwood, back to you. >> thanks. >>> tonight, fellow councilmen speaking out about these fraud charges. jackie vinson is live in northwest with more on that part of the story. jackie? >> reporter: wendy it could be difficult to describe the tension levels inside this building right now. now, this afternoon, council members met without chairman brown at least at the beginning. the first odor of business, to close the proceedings to the media. a from protective services officer was stationed outside the door as opposed to the usual staff member. after the meeting adjourned, the council members filed out and some did speak to us. >> it's a courtesy to the chair to let him speak for himself. >> what is the mood? >> everybody's mood is somber but we're focused on the integrity and -- >> what happened inside? >> we spoke

this will replace kwame brown resigned last week over fraud investigation. there's a debate over who should get that title. john gonzalez is at the wilson building to explain. >> good morning. it has been a tumultuous time for the city council, filled with scandal and corruption. later this morning, the city council will try to move past that as they elect a new chairman for this council, which has gone through a lot in the past several months. this is someone who is well- known and well-respected inside city hall in northwest d.c.. a large councilmember phil mendelson is in his fourth term. he has said in the past that he does want this job. even though he is expected to face some opposition and competition, especially from vincent orange, this no-nonsense type of member appears to be a shoe and today. mendelssohn is expected to take over for kwame brown, who resigned last week after pleading guilty to bank fraud. it is the second recent council member to step down. earlier this year, harry thomas, of ward 5, was sentenced to 38 months in prison after embez

>>> the resignation of kwame brown as d.c. council chair just another blow to a constituency that's already replaced one council member this session. bruce leshan is live from southeast d.c. with reaction to what's just been an ongoing crisis of corruption. bruce? >> reporter: yeah, derek, just a great sense of disappointment here at anacostia. kwame brown, of course, spent much of his childhood actually down in prince william county in virginia with his mother, but he came back to the city in high school with his dad, marshall brown, a long time political organizer here in the city and, of course, kwame brown made his political career here in the city, but mark fisher wrote in the post today that brown presented himself as a young african american who was equally comfortable in living rooms in anacostia and in chevy chase, a politician with street distribution ranks ekes d.c. and boardroom savvy -- with street -- with street smarts and politician savvy. >> reporter: what do you think of this? >> send him to jail. >> well, i r

city council will select an interim replacement for disgraced chairman kwame brown.y is coming up. >> plus, the tall ships of 2012 are headed into an area harbor later today. >>> the tall ships of opsail 2012 are headed into a harbor today. >> theirage stop also include -- their annual stop also include events. >> reporter: tall ships from around the world sail away. when each one passes, the reverend david says a blessing to keep the sailors safe on their next adventure. >> for all who serve aboard, protect them from the perils of the sea. may they have fair winds and faraway seas as they leave our port of norfolk in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen. >> reporter: hundreds spent the morning to bid the sailors farewell. rich has spent a lot of time working dozens of ships -- watching dozens of ships. >> to see the tall mast and watch the sailors on board and see them flying, it's spectacular. it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. >> reporter: he even got on board over the weekend to see the impressive ships up close. >> it was amazin

kwame brown, city council chairman, has resigned.oming up, we'll tell you what charges he is facing, what he is expected to plead guilty to. >>> welcome back. it is 5:30. glimmers of light as we start this thursday morning. it is june 7th. you are looking live at the commute there at the beltway at the oxon hill area. safely travels as you start to get around. >> it should be pretty decent on to get around. as you step outside, you might want to put the ac on in the car. we don't have any clouds to talk about today at all. a ridge of high pressure to the southwest of us. so really not a whole lot happening outside currently. wind are very light as well. so we'll see most of the day where we'll actually be mostly sunny skies and a little bit later, we'll see a few clouds starting to roll in, however. here is a look at yesterday's highs for you. we actually hit 75 degrees at reagan national airport. 74degrees at dulles. and that is actually some seven degrees. both of those seven degrees below the seasonal average. we hit 77 at bwi thu

kwame brown has quit as d.c. council chair.fore a judge tomorrow and plead guilty to bank fraud charges. the charges are related to his personal finances. there is still investigation ongoing into his 2000 # campaign. >>> -- 2008 campaign. >>> some people gave up because traffic was jammed overnight on the bw parkway for the opening of maryland live. it's the state's third slots parlor. the facility near the anne arundel mills mall opened with more than 3200 slot machines. >>> a quality start last night for edwin jackson. the nationals. he picked up his first win since april. struck out six. nats top the mets 5-3. they go for the sweep this afternoon. >>> 6:54. time to reveal the answer to our question of the morning. it was women purchase 96% of which of these things? is it a, candles, b, shoes, or c, cosmetic supplies. >> the answer is a, candles. our viewers were indeed right. we'll have one more check of traffic and weather next right here on 9news now. >>> during the white house science fair, the president of the united st

>> kwame brown, first elected in 2004 to d.c. council had been under investigation for more than a year. prosecutors continue to look into his 2008 council campaign and hundreds of thousands of dollars unaccounted for. mayor vincent gray, under his own separate criminal investigation for his 2010 campaign for mayor reacted to the kwame brown charge. >> well, i am stunned. i'm shocked. and disappointed. i'm saddened. >> the d.c. council will convene nexts when day to name temporary chairman to replace brown. jim. >> okay. more than a year and what they come up with is something having to do with his personal finances. its there more to this that we should be aware snuff. >> people should know this is a plea agreement, agreed to plea to this. had he not agreed there would be many more charges to charge him with and possibly his wife might be charged. he took the best route to getting this over and done with. rather than facing many more charges and perhaps a long trial. >> how it concerns kwame brown this investigation seems to be

kwame brown is expected to appear in federal court tomorrow morning. we don't know yet what the sentencing guidelines for that one count of felony bank fraud are going to be. in the meantime, mary cheh is going to lead the city council until the council members can vote on an interim council chairman. >> thank you. >>> kwame brown's charge is the talk of the town. >> as a d.c. resident, i've been here nine years, it is getting a little old. >> my first reaction was lack of surprise and my second reaction is that i'm glad at least that, if he was doing something wrong, at lost he has been caught and is stepping off the council. >> day with fox 5 for continuing coverage of kwame brown and the d.c. council changes. we'll have updates both on air and online at myfoxdc.com. >>> take a look at all the cars and the people that lined up up side maryland's biggest casino. huge crowds could not get enough of the thousands of slot machines, black jack and the roulette tables plus the five restaurants that are there. >> this is a world class gaming entertainment a

--kwame brown writes his bank fraud charge comes a after harry thomas jr. was sentenced to prison and just after two former campaign staffers to the mayor pleaded -- >> we are the laughing stock of the country. >> it feels like you have no say is going on. >> there is no balance within the government. on have most of the people the city council who are one party. i want to reassure have a process in place. >> it is a very sad day comment for mr. brown. a sad day for the people in the district. people are saying just that tonight. as what comes next, she active share of the council. wednesday, she will call a to elect a different person. brown, he has a court date on friday. we are live tonight in northwest d.c. >> kwame browns resignation is a litany ofn the d.c. government. harry thomas jr. was sentenced forhree years in prison embezzling city funds intended for a soccer program. pleadedaign aides charges. >> we are following another breaking story tonight. is a of a much lighter in nature. this. look at we are live under -- over the arundel mall. hundreds

kwame brown is out of a job. brianne carter tells us what caused the sudden resignation. >> good morning. when asked about whether or not he had any plans to resign on tuesday, kwame brown said no but that is exactly what has happened after facing these charges. we could hear from him about all of this later today. this is the latest shake-up involving the d.c. council. >> kwame brown stepped down from his post after being charged by the feds with bank fraud for allegedly lying about his income on loan applications. his resignation letter -- "i have made some serious mistakes in judgment for which i will take full responsibility." >> it is a sad day for us on the council. >> his charges the latest in a string of alleged wrongdoing involving city leaders in the nation to get capital. councilmember said despite all of this, they plan to keep moving forward. >> i know that the most important thing is to reassure everyone that our city will continue to move forward. >> residents are tired of problems. >> it seems lik

district court kwame brown goes before judge richard leon for arraignment. wednesday the council meets to select his replacement, vincent orange, phil men doll son the front runners -- mendelson, the front runners. >> we're joined now by jim shallack, state and federal prosecutor more than 20 years. great to have you here. we've been hearing rumors for a couple weeks, but when it all went down, a couple days kwame brown is on the way out. what does that mean? >> it tells me that the ever must have been overwhelming. the government may have had more evidence like on election fraud and it tells me this is the best deal he could get. he jumped at it to avoid maybe other charges. it tells me that they really had a locked case. >> this is a plea bargain. he made the best deal he could get you say, but some folks will say we thought this was about campaign finance violences. now you give us bank fraud -- violations. now you give us bank fraud, a loan. >> many people think bank fraud is much more serious than election law. bank fraud, he lied about how much money h

>> reporter: jim, kwame brown

s south bay harbor, one of kwame brown's purchases with money quad lently applied after kwame brown applied -- obtained fraudulently applied for after kwame brown misrepresented his income. first it was federal charges for bank fraud. now brown is charged with one count of unlawful cash campaign expenditure. prosecutors allege brown set up a side account with money from his 2008 campaign and authorized a family member to make withdrawals. since the charges came down there has been only silence from the former chair, his office closed, his name removed. >> it was just shocking to me. >> council member yvette alexander is among many who are concerned about brown and his family. >> when what it all boils down to is that we're elected officials, but we're human first, you know, and we do have a life outside of what we do in city hall. >> i'm just sorry to see what happened yesterday to my friend and i hope he and his family are going to be fine. >> meantime more legal issues loom at the top of city government. the u.s. attorney continues its investigation of mayor vincent gray's 2010 campaign.

kwame brown resigned on wednesday.has not made any public statement to the press, at least not as of yet. it is certainly -- will address the charges at some point today. reporting live, megan mcgrath, news4. >>> the corruption scandal has many asking who's in charge and what's next. as chairman of the d.c. council, brown was in charge. and now that he has resigned, it's mary cheh's responsibility as pro tempore to preside over a special meeting and select an interim chairman. under current rules, at-large members elected by the entire city and not just one ward can take over as interim chairman. experts predict it probably won't be david catania over there to the far right or michael brown over here. they have outside jobs and would have to give them up if they became chairman. that leaves phil mendelsohnn and vincent orange. there will be a special election for the seat. he sauls next in line if something should happen to the current mayor. in other words, if the mayor ever has to leave office for any reason, whether

kwame brown is their chairman. they to deal with the budget, emergency legislation regarding immigration issues and enforcement and among other things, kwame brown had to address this ongoing speculation that he may be forced to step down. there was an audit by the office of campaign finance in d.c. it sounds like there were campaign finance irregularities in kwame brown's 2008 re- election campaign. that has led to a federal investigation which sources tell fox 5 is close to being wrapped up. in addition to failure to report certain contributions and expenditures, money was steered to a consulting company owned by brown's brother. before the council got down to business, brown had to sit down with reporters and talk to them about rumors that he may be forced to resign. >> i don't have no plans at this time to resign. i apologize for us even in the situation where we have to be talking about this as opposed to the god work my colleagues just finished completing. >> reporter: a lot of talk yesterday. brown got a lit

council chairman kwame brown's 2008 campaign.ox 5's melanie alnwick is live with the latest on this. very this has become a huge distraction here at the wilson building. there are some sources that say that kwame brown has worked out a deal with federal prosecutors that would have him among other things stepping down as council chairman as early as today. but other sources say yes, brown and federal prosecutors have talked but that there is no deal. deal or no deal, the d.c. council chairman finally came out to confront speculation over his future. >> i have no plans to resign. that is all i'm going to say about that. >> but it seems clear an audit that turned upper regularities in his election campaign that apparently steered money to a firm owned by his brother and has led to a federal investigation is making him over and a little testy. before the council got down to the business of its legislative session and passing a budget, brown had a shoving match with the wtop reporter. >> i began to ask him a question about one. the ru

we understand that kwame brown with his fellow council members was businesslike, open, forthright. council members as you heard are hoping this is a little bit like pulling a scab off a wound and that the city can now start healing but, of course, the federal investigation of mayor vincent gray and his campaign practices, that is continuing. lesli? >> bruce leshan, thank you. to talk more about all this is bruce johnson who is back now to give us perspective. first, though, chairman brown says he's going to speak tomorrow. should we assume that tomorrow he will resign and then go into that place? >> i think that's exactly what our councilman harry thomas did is resigned from office before entering the guilty plea to leave open the door to open public office again. >> at the end of the piece bruce talked about the fact the mayor's investigation is still out there and you know there has been a wide ranging corruption investigation going on netting all kinds of folks. >> it's interesting the council members now talking about heal and mending fences. we still got a ways to go. the mayo

>>tom is live outside of superior court with the fate surrounding kwame brown. . >> kwame brown has a very busy day tomorrow and not in a good way. at 11:00 he will be one block from here in federal court where he is expected to plead guilty to a felony charge. at 1:30 he will be here at d.c. superior court where he will plead guilty to a misdemeanor. this is all getting to be a little too much for area residents. >> it is very irresponsible for any elected official to be doing that. >> some say the charges are the latest problems that have left them unable to trust their government. >> it seems like every other week somebody else is getting into something. >> after learning about a federal charge of fraud yesterday, today we learned of a local charge over alleged campaign fraud. he is accused of not reporting hundreds of thousands he received in his 2008 campaign and passing along money to a firm run by his brother who was not charged. >> their city government is still strong. >> today marion barry try to assure the public is still can trust their government. >> i do not think there

this time it's chairman kwame brown. brown gave his resignation yesterday, did not speak to the crowd of reporters who assembled outside of his office at the wilson building. he said very little, in fact. let's listen in. >> i have a comment tomorrow. thank you. no comment as of now. i appreciate you for waiting in the hallway all this time. i don't have a comment. i'll have a comment tomorrow. thank you. >> reporter: kwame brown stepped down after being charged with bank fraud. prosecutors say he falsified documents, inflagt his income by tens of thousands to refinance his home and buy a luxury boat named "bullet proof." in his resignation letter he said i have behaved in ways i should not have. i was wroj and i'll face the consequences of that conduct. i have apologized to the residents of our great city and i offer my unconditional apology to the members of coupe for all the negative attention my behavior has brought about. they're looking into hundreds of thousands of dollars still unaccounted for. this is another bl

what's next for kwame

as for kwame brown, the d.c. ethics laws do not prohibit him from he can soothe office again sometime in the future because he resigned before he pleaded guilty. that is the latest here at the wilson building. back to you. >> thank you. >>> now to state politics. virginia's george alhelp closer to getting his old job back. the former u.s. senator brush ad side three conservative rivals in yesterday's republican primary for the senate. allen lost his seat back in 2006. this time, he got 65% of the vote. his closest competitor was tea party leader jamie radke who won 23%. two other candidates trailed far behind. allen faces tim kaine for the virnt senate seat. tim kaine will be peeking live with us coming up later in the 7:00 hour here on fox 5 morning news. chris perkins won the republican nod in the 11th district to take on democratic congressman jerry connelly in november. congressman jim moran easily won the democratic program for run for re-election in the #th district. and eric cantor cruised to victory in hi

kwame brown stepped down and pleaded guilty to criminal charges next week. councilmember is expected to succeed brown as the interim chair. sources say he is seen as someone who won't shake things up. vincent orange is all vying to take the chair seat but appears to be a long shot. councilmember mary cheh explained on fox 5 news at 10:00 last night. >> he is obviously vying for the spot so he would take a position in opposition to what is being proposed. he will have to make plain what his argument is. i think choosing mr. mendelsohn now as chair is the right thing to do. >> nothing is fixed but i believe what will happen is that chair pro tem mary cheh will propose a resolution. there will be an opportunity for discussion. often time when there is a situation like this, the council does not get into discussion and then there will be a vote. >> reporter: it is unclear for mendelsohn has the support of councilmember marion barry who has tweeted in part, do you know what they are planning to do? do they hear you or the lobby? councilmember michael brown is exp

. >>> new criminal charges for kwame brown. he is now the former d.c. council chairman after resigning yesterday when it was announced he was charged with falsifying his income to get a bank loan. federal prosecutors are charging him with violating campaign finance laws. he is expected to plead guilty to two charges later this morning. this is just the latest scandal plaguing the city government. the mayor is also investigation. vincent gray like to point out that he and kwame brown first got elected together to the council. the mayor tells fox 5's karen gray houston he is not concerned about more scandals. >> reporter: if vince gray is a target of federal prosecutors, is he is not saying he is nervous about the possibility of being next. >> i'm going on doing my job every day. >> reporter: midday at the wilson building, he was wearing in new board member. the newly established corrections information council. >> duties of the office of which i am -- >> reporter: questions remain about whether vince gray knew about illegal activities two top campaign ai

no comment as of now. >> i'm sad myself, but for my own history with kwame brown. worked with me for 16, 20 years. >> i think individuals find themselves at times in these situations but to say that the whole government is corrupt is a mistake. >> reporter: information documents filed in federal court today charge brown with one count of bank fraud. the three page document says he provided the document falsified documents that overstated his income to allow him to obtain a home equity loan to purchase a boat. sources say brown falsely claimed in the application to have an outside job that did not exit. the mayor issued a statement late today saying he is shocked and disappointed and saddened by today's news. 11:00 friday morning, we go before leon for arraignment and then on wednesday the rest of the council meets to select his replacement. >>> the dc council conconvenience next wednesday to elect an interim chair to replace brown. your initial reaction to the charges, the resignation. >> i'm numb now, but my initial reaction, which still remains, is that i'm devas

council, kwame brown was in charge.s chair pro temp mary cheh will be responsible to call and preside over a council meeting to select a temporary chairman now that brown has resigned. under council rules, only at-large members elected by the entire city and not just one ward can take over as interim chairman. experts predict it probably will not be david katanya or michael because they have outside jobs and they would have to give them up if they became chairman. that leaves phil mendelson and vincent orange. whoever it does end up being, that person will not only run the d.c. council until the city holds a special election for kwame brown's seat, he is also next in line if something should happen to the current mayor. in other words, if the mayor ever has to leave office for any reason, whether it's health or legal issues, the new interim chairman could become the next mayor. we will find out who that person is next week. >>> the owner of the d.c. improv has been found dead three weeks after he was improved missing. m

reporting live, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. >> kwame brown is the topic of today's facebook paul.ask of the issues are legitimate or if it is a witch hunt. 88% said the issues are legitimate while 12% say they are out to get d.c. politicians and. >> montgomery county police were investigating a homicide of eric somuah. he was found dead in his silver spring apartment after an apparent gunshot wound. he just guarded his own home health care visit. police are asking anyone with information to come forward. >> the transportation secretary is telling all states to crack down on people using cell phones behind the wheel. ray lahood says it has become an epidemic that can be fixed with strict laws. >> thousands of people turned out to test their luck at the grand opening of the debt was casino. here is the scene as they open their doors for the first time. it has about 3200 slot machines with more coming along the way. it should increase tax revenue by $400 million a year. >> we talk with diane sawyer about 29's world news. she had a big surprise for us. >> good evening, diane. i see yo

kwame brown told them behind closed doors he's resigning effective close of business today. it was an emotional meeting for some i'm told. council member mary cheh will open a meeting wednesday for the council to vote on the replacement. vincent orange, phil mendelson, both democrat at large members are expected to compete for the job to replace kwame brown. >> can you remember a time where this council has had this many distractions? >> there's never been a time in the city's history we've had this many distractions and it's not over. there's still that major investigation hanging over the city like a wet blanket of the mayor, his administration and their campaign. all these start out as investigations of campaigns and end up in all other areas. so we'll see. >> mary cheh serves as interim chairman and then a special election to fill it permanently. >> i think she's chairman pro tem and will just open up meeting for this vote and then the interim chairman will be selected. >>> we spoke with some of the kwame brown's colleagues on the d.c. council about all this. here's coun

yes, kwame brown is comped you would to appear in federal court tomorrow to face those charges. mary cheh will hold a special council meeting. they need to choose one of the four at-large members who will run the council until a special election to replace brown can be held. yesterday, the now disgraced council chairman was swarmed by reporters and photographers as he left his office in the wilson building. he spent the day in closed-door meeting with council and staff. prosecutors say he lied about his income and falsified documents in order to take home equity longs and a boat loan out. that is considered bank fraud, a money. rumors of a deal with federal prosecutors had dogged brown for days and publicly said tuesday he had no plans at the time to resign but just hours after he left city hall wednesday, brown relinquished. he sent a letter to the city council secretary writing in part, i have made serious mistake in judgment for which i will take full responsibility. >> as the chair pro tem, i have a modest role and i'm already putting it into play. namely, i will call a spec

who would replace kwame brown. i know right now mary cheh is acting, but after that who are the leading contenders to replace kwame brown? >> i spoke to player cheh late this afternoon and she told me wednesday -- mary cheh late this afternoon and she told me on wednesday when they have the meeting that she will offer a motion that phil mendelson will be the chair and that michael brown who is an independent -- the other democrat is vincent orange -- would be the chairman pro tem. they would hope there wouldn't be any other motions offered and the politics of this is that vincent orange does not like that, would like to contest, but he can count like everybody else and if he doesn't have any votes, he'll have to go along with that. then afterwards there has to be a special election, 114 days after the appointment of the council and phil mendelson who has been in for 14 years said he would run for chair and we'll see whether anybody would oppose him at that time. >> let me ask you a little bit about this. we spoke b

council chair kwame brown. the tsa called unprofessional and ineffective on capitol hill. >> and the soda summit in d.c. highlighting the dangers of sugary drinks. >>> we'll begin with a murder mystery in maryland. a man found shot to death in his luxury apartment, his killer still on the streets and his family is left wondering why it all happened. fox 5's audrey barnes working this one now. >> police don't have a motive now for the killing and very few clues. officers were called to eric somoa's apartment last night by a family member who was unable to reach him. the 34-year-old, topsman at a bethesda jaguar and range rover dealership was found shot to death inside. family members are shocked by the violent way his life ended. >> i'm trying to be the strong one for the family and all, still can't believe it. get up in the morning and we still can't believe that this has happened to him. especially in his own place someone just want to take a young man's life like that. he wouldn't harm a fly and for this to h

kwame brown is expected to plead guilty for bank fraud.t his punishment be. >> something ahead, lots of parents think about does my kid have what it takes to be a star? one mom thought about that before and lived through the process. we are talking with kim biel, mom of tv star jessica biel she has made it big in hollywood, kim will give some advice. >> if you have ever listened to the tom joiner show, you are probably aware of the huggy low down. they will be live here in studio to share laughs find out how to see them live and in person tomorrow night >> can't wait for that. >> funny funny guy. >>> coming up late