Apr 2, 2009 6:51 pm US/Eastern
Dixon's Lawyers File Motion To Throw Out Charges
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Attorneys for Mayor Sheila Dixon want to put an end to the investigation of the mayor before it goes any further.
CBS
Attorneys for Mayor Sheila Dixon want to put an end to the investigation of the mayor before it goes any further.
Mike Hellgren reports Mayor Dixon's lawyers filed a lengthy, sharply critical motion to throw out all the charges against her, and they hope the judge will sign it, avoiding a potentially embarrassing and lengthy trial.
Dixon representatives call the indictment, "hopelessly confused" with a "multiplicity of mistakes and misconceptions" and referring to "grossly inconsistent factual findings by a confused grand jury."
"The indictment that she faces is ludicrous," said Arnold Weiner, Dixon's lawyer.
The state prosecutor alleges the mayor violated ethics laws, accepting gifts and trips from her former boyfriend, prominent developer Ron Lipscomb -- all while the city was giving him tax breaks for big developments in Harbor East.
Dixon's lawyers say the ethics laws never prohibited gifts from Lipscomb. They claim the prosecutor inappropriately combined separate sections of the ethics code.
They say parts of it are void because, "the city finance director and the Ethics Board failed to create and keep on file a certified list of persons doing business with the city."
Because of that, they say the mayor would have no idea whether she could or couldn't take gifts from Lipscomb.
A
WJZ investigation found the mayor abstained from voting on anything related to Lipscomb last year, but his name was not listed under her abstentions during the time they were dating.
Another huge allegation is theft. The claim is that the mayor stole gift cards meant for the needy. She addressed that charge in an exclusive interview with
WJZ earlier this year.
"I was very bothered, and that hurt and particularly because I know it's not true," she said.
The mayor's lawyers claim she did nothing wrong with the cards including when she gave one to a staff member because that person was in need.
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