Detroit council delays move to oust mayor

DETROIT, June 24 (UPI) -- The Detroit City Council voted Tuesday to delay legal proceedings to oust Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is under indictment for perjury.

The council gave no reason for the decision, The Detroit News reported. Proceedings had been set to begin July 7 but have now been put off until the end of the month.

Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff have been charged with lying under oath about having an affair and about their roles in police firings. The council has also asked Gov. Jennifer Granholm to use an obscure Michigan law to remove the mayor.

Kilpatrick lawyer Sharon McPhail Monday wrote Granholm, asking her to postpone any action. McPhail accused council members of attacking Kilpatrick because they want his job.

McPhail compared the mayor to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed for spying for the Soviet Union, and to Death Row inmates who have been cleared in Illinois.