Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gave his first interview in Detroit after leaving prison earlier this summer.
Kilpatrick talked about prison, his personal life, and his self-proclaimed “resurrection” at Citadel of Faith church Tuesday night.
Kilpatrick is promoting his book, “Surrendered: The Rise, Fall, and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick.” He says the book reflects a kind of divine inspiration, rather than his own ego.
“It was born from a thought that I had placed down inside of me, even before I was Mayor. That in order to be the man that I’m called to be, one day, I have to surrender.”
Kilpatrick still faces federal corruption charges for allegedly manipulating the city contracting system for profit.
Kilpatrick calls any allegations that he ran his office like a criminal syndicate—one federal prosecutors have dubbed the “Kilpatrick Enterprise”-- “nonsense.” He added: “I don’t even know how you fix a contract in the city of Detroit.”
The timing was a bit awkward, coming just a day after Kilpatrick’s longtime friend and former aide, Derek Miller, pleaded guilty to corruption charges and agreed to “cooperate” with federal prosecutors.
Miller is part of the alleged Kilpatrick Enterprise—which also includes Kwame Kilpatrick’s father, Bernard.
Kilpatrick says it’s now apparent that “Derek did some things.” But the ex-Mayor insists he didn’t know about them until Miller’s guilty plea.
Kilpatrick admits he lied under oath during a 2007 whistleblower trial. But he says his subsequent imprisonment for violating probation, and the federal charges, stem from "a movement to lock me up."
