to summarize what we v they're charging kwame brown allowed his brother to set up and outside account. jay brown had no official standing with the campaign but allowed him to set up an outside account and then to make expenditures from that account. that's illegal. one misdemeanor count kwame brown has agreed to plead guilty to that. that will be decided in d.c. supreme court, not federal court. back in january specifically on our set i asked kwame brown how the federal investigation into his 2008 campaign would turn out. here's would he said. >> when you say it's going to be a positive outcome, does that mean there's going to be nothing in kwame brown's doing how he handles his campaign that will have you standing before a judge or something like that? you're totally innocent of any wrongdoing, other members of your campaign totally have done nothing wrong? >> i have done absolutely nothing wrong, bruce. >> reporter: so obviously either that wasn't correct, that wasn't true, or he has been made to realize he had done something wrong and is going to plead guilty to that one misdemeano

by the way, members of kwame brown's staff have been offered their jobs back. they were out of work after brown resigned but mary cheh, the council's acting chair made that offer to them yesterday. it is not clear how many people are taking her up on that offer. >>> again we'll have more details coming up tonight. >>> a culpeper police officer charged with murder was in court today, a special grand jury indicted daniel harmon- wright last month. in february harmon-wright shot and killed 54-year-old patricia cook while she was in her jeep. the officer claims cook drove off with his arm in her window. investigators say that they have evidence contradicting that story. we'll have more on that story coming up on this evening's newscast. >>> a bicyclist is recovering after being hit by a montgomery county police cruiser. sky 9 was over the scene of the accident this morning on the ramp from briggs cheney road to columbia pike in silver spring. police tell 9news now that the 16-year-old female illegally crossed in front of the cruiser. she was taken to a nearby hospit

ron said today that he was very disappointed that kwame brown traded away his principles for personal gain. brian, back to you. >> brown faces 0 to 6 months realistically on the federal charge. do you think the punishment fits the crime here in here's what you are seeing on facebook. a little lee way. he at least pleaded guilty and resigned his council seat. i have difficulty seeing him, brown, as a devil. kate doesn't agree . they play by their own rules. that brings us to our next point. does this along with the other recent scandals have an impact on d.c.'s fight for voting rights? d.c. delegate joins us now to weigh in on this issue. and delegate norton, it is a great point. how are outsiders in particular expected to separate the issues from d.c. rights and d.c. statehood and budget atonmy from the fact it looks like the city can't manage to govern itself. >> i tell you, the american people have long learned to do that, corruption was invented in the 50 states, not the district of columbia. no one suggested that there is any link between people and politicians. i'm pleased to say

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

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 good. it's not good when we can't trust the leadership in our city. who can we trust? it's just a black eye for washington d.c. >>s a d.c. resident, i've been here nine years, it is getting a little old, yeah. >> reporter: megan odet is a nine-year resident and is tiring of the negative attention on d.c. leaders, but ultimately she says it's a good thing. >> my first reaction was lack of surprise, i guess, and my second reaction is that i'm glad at least that if he was doing some

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

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

and now they need to replace council chair kwame brown. >> brown has been charged with bank fraud ands expected to plead guilty tomorrow n. his resignation letter, he writes, i simply will not hold this body and its important work hostage to the resolution of my personal indiscretions. very behaved in ways i should not have. i was wrong and i will face the consequences of that conduct. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is outside the wilson building with more. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, andrea. disappointment, betrayal and utter shock, just some of the emotion that many of kwame brown supporters, constituents, and his colleagues are feeling this morning after his very public fall from grace. 41-year-old kwame brown will plead guilty on friday to one count of bank fraud. that is submitting fault documents that inflated his income in order to secure a loan so he could buy a boat. analysts say his quick plea deal indicates prosecutors have much more damaging evidence against him. brown has been under investigation for possible campaign finance violations connected t

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

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 chair kwame brown is expected to face two judges today on two separate charges. >> it seems like every other week someone else is getting into something. it is very tiring. >> brown is facing a federal charge of bank fraud for lying on a loan application. is also facing a misdemeanor charge for campaign finance violations. according to court documents during his 2008 election, he kept inside account and authorized a relative, believed to be his brother, to make withdrawals. >> very irresponsible. >> brown were resigned from the council. the ec leaders are trying to reassure residents but the city is still moving forward. >> i don't think there's widespread corruption here. before people done to conclusions, they need to look at how well the city is run. >> it's unclear as to how much or if any time he will have to serve. we will have to wait and see. meanwhile, the council has a meeting next wednesday and to appoint an interim chair. brianne carter reporting, abc 7 news. >> a frightening discovery in prince george's county. a two-year-old boy was wandering alone. police were call

council chairman kwame brown is resigning today from his job. he's facing felony charges that he lied about tens of thousands of dollars of income on home loan documents with industrial bank. now, brown, the documents have been filed in federal court. he could find up in federal court as early as tomorrow, but at this moment, we still don't know what the court appearance will be. jim and pat? >> tom, is there any reaction from the mayor and secondly, who replaces him on the council? >> reporter: well, the mayor has not said anything in the last hour that i'm aware of. he said he didn't know enough about the actual charges to make a comment. what will happen is mary, the ward 3 councilwoman number two charge of the council will call a meeting of the council at early as tonight or tomorrow and ask then the council elect one of the at-large member, one of the four at-large meshes will become the acting temporary chairman until a special election can be held. >> speak to me of the timing of all this. an incident involving a radio reporter yesterday.

today, former also shar council chair kwame brown stepped down. >> yes, after being charged with bank fraud. brianne carter has more details. >> good morning. tuesday, brown said that he had no plans to resign. have learned this morning that is exactly what has happened then he stepped down last night. we could hear from him later today. this is the latest shake-up involving the city council. d.c. council chairman kwame brown steps 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, he writes "i have made some serious mistakes in judgment for which i will take full responsibility." >> it's a very sad day for mr. brown, for us on the council and for the people in the district. >> is charged is the latest in wrongdoing involving city leaders in the nation's capital. >>council members say they plan to keep moving forward. but the most important thing is to assure everyone that our city will continue to move forward. >> residents say they are tired of problems. >> feels we have no say in what

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

does one defendant actually appear in two separate courtrooms on two separate charges but indeed kwame brown will appear in two courtrooms. first up, he's going to answer to the bank fraud charges here in federal court later this morning. let's take a look at some video of mr. brown and the last days of his council reign. 41-year-old brown will plead guilty to falsifying bank documents in order to secure a loan to buy a luxury boat and a new charge, brown faces a misdemeanor campaign finance violation. an audit found $239,000 had been transferred to brown's brother's now defunct consulting firm. the campaign also failed to register 60 grand that his brother controlled. despite the ongoing investigation and turmoil in the council, members believe they can move beyond this. here's what marion barry had to say. >> i can guarantee you that council will be stronger than ever before, and the acting chair will be stronger than ever before. and i'm so glad this is behind us now and it is, that we can now focus on the real work of government. >> reporter: however, they do have to answer to the reside

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

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

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 really didn't know him. >> reporter: you don't feel a strong connection? >> no. >> reporter: even though he just lives a few blocks from here? >> that's right. >> when he first said that he knew nothing about it and he wasn't resigning, everybody knew that it was coming to an end and it's really sad. you know what i'm saying? that d.c. got to go through this time after time and they say we're not finished

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

councilman resigns, this time it's the council chair kwame brown. guilty to a personal charge of bank fraud. >> brown is due in court tomorrow for plead guilty. mayor vincent gray says he's shocked. in a statement the mayor said, quote, never would i imagine something like this would occur. mary cheh will take over temporarily as council chair. she wants a meeting wednesday to pick an interim chair. >> delia goncalves is live outside the wilson building getting reaction from city leaders this morning. >> reporter: well, you read some of it. many of city leaders have expressed their deep disappoint and betrayal by kwame brown's actions. and city leaders are now struggling to conduct city business under this enormous cloud of doubt. 41-year-old brown will likely serve some jail time for his guilty plea on friday. he's accused of falsifying bank documents in order to secure a loan so he can buy a boat. analysts say his quick plea deal and resignation indicates prosecutors may have far more damaging evidence against him. he was as you may remember under

-- 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. when asked about it thursday, the mayor would not say whether he's nervous about th

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

what we know for sure tonight, another black eye for a city struggling toto overcome proble. >> kwame brown resigned. he said he made mistakes. former d.c. council chairman resigned. the door closing on his once promising political career. federal court papers filed wednesday charge brown with a phony scheme to inflate his income by tens of thousand of dollars to refinance his house, buy a boat, bulletproof and other items. brown as late as the tuesday insist heed had no plans to resign. >> i have no plans to resign. >> the u.s. attorney's office said brown defrauded independence federal with falsified documents and signatures all federal crimes to obtain a $598,000 mortgage on his home thought to be worth far less. >> mr. brown any comment? >> 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. >>

council chairman kwame brown's 2008 campaign is our big story this morning. brown is now addressing rumors that are swirling about his future. melanie alnwick is live with the latest on what the chair map has to say about this. -- what the chairman has to say about. this. >> it is a busy day here at city council chambers as they open their legislative session. 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 repor

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

>> reporter: jim, kwame brown

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

council chairman kwame brown will appear in court twice today. 1:00 he'll appear in federal court on a felony bank fraud charge. he's expected to plead guilty. at 1:20 this afternoon, brown will answer to a misdemeanor campaign finance charge. news4's megan mcgrath joins us live now outside the federal courthouse downtown with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, aaron. just a few days ago a busy schedule for kwame brown would have meant council meetings and hearings, maybe a community event. it's a series of court appearances. john will appear in front -- brown will appear in front of two judges on separate charges. at 11:00 a.m., brown is expected to plead guilty to a felony bank fraud charge. prosecutors say that brown falsified income information in order to get a home loan and buy a boat. then yesterday, a new charge surfaced. brown now is also accused of violating campaign finance laws. prosecutors say he was -- he authorized the opening of a campaign side account and that the money spent went largely unreported. now that charge is

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

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

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 blo

>>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

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

. >>> 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

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

board of ethics and kwame brown himself. >> when mr. brown sent those fraudulent loan documents to the bank, he traded away his principles for personal gain. once we discovered that fraud along with the repeated cash expenditures over and above the $50 limit, we simply could not allow him to remain in his position, a position in which he yielded tremendous influence over a city budget in the billions of dollars. >> blaming the campaign finance charge against brown, prosecutors say he flagrantly abused the law writing one check for $1,500 cash. the law says campaigns may not write checks for cash greater than $50. >> paul wagner, thank you. >>> fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin joins us now. what a week we've, had the second highest ranking d.c. city official resigned, pled guilty to criminal charges. did you man we would be here when this week began? -- imagine we would be here when this week began? you and i were talking about this same issue. >> i did say before if any action was going to be taken, the mayor was under investigation,

council, kwame brown was in charge. 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. ma

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

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

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

another black eye for dc politics. >> kwame brown resigned yesterday hours after being charged with bankraud. prosecutors allege brown over stated income by tens of thousands of dollars on an application for a home equity loan more than six years ago on the heels of harry thomas for stealing city funds and ac significances of campaign ethics -- accusations of campaign ethics violations by mayor grey. >> i am shocked but not surprised the way our politics are going now especially dc politics, it is disheartening to see council members just going down one by one. you know, i bond whore is next. >> you can't trust anybody it is coming from the top. >>> mary che will take over as acting council chair. a special session topeka new leader -- to pick a new leader will be held next wednesday. >> kwame brown will make a statement some time today. joining us with more on what the charge means is white- collar crime specialist, david frankle thanks for being with us today we often call you in to sort out what is really going on. i guess that is the main question how serious is this charge of bank f

--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

council chairman kwame brown is due in court twice.expected to plead guilty to a felony bank fraud charge that could land him in prison for up to 30 years. he also will be in court for a less serious campaign finance charge. it's a misdemeanor and unrelated to the more serious fraud charge. mayor gray concedes that it is difficult to go about business as usual at times like this. >> it's not to be unexpected that, you know, when situations like this occur that they would probably dominate the headlines. they would dominate the news. but for those who choose to go beyond that, i think they'll learn that the city doing extremely well. >> brown is expected to make a statement after pleading guilty to the bank fraud charge. >>> a sad update for you this morning. a young girl who was injured in a crash in fairfax earlier this week has died. the 7-year-old passed away yesterday. her 5-year-old sister and her mother also died. police say the mother sideswiped another car and crashed into a minivan on lee highway tuesday night. they say she wa

what's ahead for kwame brown and the d. at 6:00 a.m. >>> ahead at 5:45, why it apparently wasn't large enough. >>> and the details of the soda summit taking place in washington today. we'll have much more but first, good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> and good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome in. as we take a live look outside and we can see lots of sunlight coming in or starting its way into the sky. yesterday at this time, tom, we were looking at a bunch of clouds there, the sun trying to cut through. today, better. >> we had a spectacular view of our sunrise yesterday. this morning not as much cloudiness around but still a beautiful start. we've got a gorgeous silver moon and a deep blue sky in the southwestern sky now and it's in the low to mid-50s. once again, you will need a jacket or sweater this morning. ite e feeling more like early may or late april rather than early june, and all around the region, we've got a little bit of dew forming. there's fog forming over the potomac. a view from space showing a most

>> reporter: kwame brown pulled back on his promise to spoke to the media today. instead, his attorney fred cook told fox 5 that brown could talk after his court hearings tomorrow. he has two of them, one in federal court and another in superior court. the most recent charge foiled against brown this morning goes back four years and involves one of brown's family members. his parking spot behind the wilson building opened. his office upstairs, closed up tight. kwame brown's name was removed here after his resignation letter was received. >> excuse me. >> reporter: with a smile on his face, brown left his office swarmed by the media. after federal authorities announced brown was charged with felony bank fraud. >> i don't have a comment, i don't have a comment. >> reporter: this morning, still no comment and even more bad news for brown. the former chairman is also charged with one count of unlawful cash campaign expenditure. prosecutors allege the brown campaign set up a side account with mean from his 2008 campaign. and authorized a family member to make withdrawal

. >> after kwame brown resigned mendelson, resignedd, mendelson was sworn in. >> john gonzales has been covering this story. he joins us live with the latest. >> it became official. 10 minutes ago mendelson easily became the city council's interim chairman. the biggest debate was who would become his right hand man. he took the gavel in his new seat. d.c. voters will choose a permanent chairman in november but today, the 12-member council voted for the interim share takeover from kwame brown. >> except the nomination. >> marion barry described the state of the city's local government as the worst and compared to the 2011 terrorist attacks. >> this is the greatest governmental crisis. i cannot think of anything except 9/11 that has been more horrific. >> try to start a new chapter after months of scandal, the council has sworn in mendelson. we spoke moments before the vote. >> i have been on the council for 40 years. -- 14 years. i have a sense of how they can move forward. i have offered myself. >> the council's decision did include heated objections from marion barry and then sent oran

kwame brown admitted to bank fraud and violating campaign finance laws in two separate courtrooms today. a judge could sentence him to decades in prison, but with a plea deal brown will likely serve no time once he's sentenced in september. fox 5's paul wagner filed this report earlier tonight. >> kwame brown left the federal courthouse today after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud telling a judge prosecutors had it right. he did indeed falsify documents to secure a loan even, even forged a signature. >> i want to apologize from the bottom of my heart. to all those i have let down. >> in marks of remarks that lasted -- in remarks that lasted just over five minutes brown said he did not steal public money. >> i have not stolen or used any campaign funds from either my 2004, 2008 or 2010 campaigns. i have not stolen or either improperly used any public money. >> but in his second court appearance today brown did admit campaign finance violations, specifically writing checks for cash way over the legal limit. >> i am guilty of knowing that poll workers and others received more tha