Former Detroit city law chief John E. Johnson Jr. testified this morning that he didn't need to read the proposed court filing containing explosive text messages that led to a sudden settlement of the police whistle-blower lawsuit -- and that doing so would have made it available to the public under the state Freedom of Information laws.Johnson, testifying at the professional misconduct trial of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's lawyer Samuel McCargo, said he didn't ask for details or "even ask about it" because that could trigger the FOIA and lead to release of the text messages.
He said the document might have been already subject to FOIA laws, but added that he believed his reading the document would guarantee it.
Johnson said he was told that the motion from the police officers' lawyer, Michael Stefani, contained excerpts of the messages but he did not push the matter further. He said the city had opposed the release of messages because they would reveal embarrassing comments about public figures and divulge confidential government information and strategy.
In fact, the excerpts showed that Kilpatrick and his aide and lover Christine Beatty lied under oath in the case. An $8.4-million settlement was quickly struck calling for the messages to remain secret.