Did mayor settle to avoid embarrassment?

DETROIT, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Detroit officials reportedly agreed to settle a lawsuit for $8.4 million to avoid the release of text messages between the mayor and his top aide.

Messages between Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty have recently become public. They appear to show that Kilpatrick and Beatty lied under oath when they denied having an affair and denied being involved in a police officer's firing.

Lawyer Michael Stefani, who is representing that officer and another one, said Tuesday that his threat to file an unspecified motion "triggered the firing," The Detroit News reported. The newspaper said it has learned from sources that the motion involved the text messages.

Wayne County , Mich., Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo Jr., who presided over the settlement, found Tuesday that the city has kept public documents secret. He ordered them released Friday, although the city has said it might appeal and lawyers are under court order not to discuss their contents.