WASHINGTON -- Mayor Marion Barry Friday relinquished his governing powers temporarily to a top aide hours after he was charged with possession of crack cocaine and allegedly was videotaped smoking the drug.
The embattled Barry met with top city officials for more than three hours Friday afternoon before announcing he had turned over 'the duties and functions of mayor that he is legally allowed to delegate' to City Administrator Carol Thompson.
Under the city's charter, Thompson will run the city but not be allowed to sign legislation. City Council Chairman David Clarke said the charter allows Barry to relinquish power for increments up to 30 days, or to resign. Barry did not resign.
He can continue to relinquish his power indefinitely until his term expires, according to the charter.
Barry was arrested Thursday night at a downtown Washington hotel after having denied persistent rumors of drug use in recent years. He had tested positive for cocaine use following his arrest, U.S. Attorney Jay Stephens said.
FBI Special Agent Ronald Stern said in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court he filmed Barry through a surveillance camera buying crack cocaine from an unidentified woman who was participating in the undercover sting operation, and that Barry later 'lit the crack cocaine and smoked it.'
Barry did not enter a plea on the misdemeanor charge, but his attorney, R. Kenneth Mundy, said Barry would plead innocent. He also asked for a jury trial.
U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson set a Feb. 5 status hearing and released Barry on his own recognizance.
Barry said he decided to turn over management of the city to better handle his 'legal matters, his concern for his family and because it is in the best interest of the citizens of Washington, D.C.'
'I want to assure my friends, colleagues, supporters, fellow citizens, the business community and the nation that this government will continue to operate at maximum performance,' Barry said in a statement. 'I know I have a team of competent professionals who will continue to run the affairs of government while I devote some time to my legal case.'
Barry said he would remain in daily contact with Thompson.
Barry also announced he is 'delaying' the scheduled Sunday announcement of a bid for a fourth term as the city's chief executive.
Robinson told Barry to begin undergoing drug tests Monday. Barry also was ordered to maintain contact with authorities by telephone once a week.
The federal charge against the mayor carries a maximum penalty of not more than one year in jail, a fine of $100,000 or both.
Stephens would not rule out bringing further charges against Barry, saying the investigation is 'ongoing.'
The arrest was part of an undercover operation by the FBI and the Internal Affairs Division of the District of Columbia police.
Barry, 53, a third-term Democrat who became the city's second elected mayor in 1978, was the object of the investigation but was not entrapped, said Stephens, who called the operation 'scrupulously fair.'
Barry was booked at the FBI headquarters Thursday night, where he was ordered to furnish blood, urine and hair samples. Stephens said the results of the blood and urine tests came back 'positive for cocaine.'
Barry was cheered by supporters Friday as he and his wife, Effi, walked through hundreds of onlookers outside U.S. District Court. Afterward, he told reporters he planned to 'leave here and go about the business of government.'
But after the three-hour closed meeting, Barry relinquished his power.
Stephens, who has headed a yearlong probe of Barry, called the arrest a 'personal tragedy' for the mayor.
'But narcotics abuse in this city is also a tragedy for many of the people in this city -- for the kids of this community, for their families and for their communities,' Stephens said.
Barry had been under federal investigation ever since visiting Charles Lewis -- a friend and former city worker later convicted of drug dealing -- at a downtown Ramada Inn in December 1988.NEWLN: more
(5grafinsert after4thgraf: xxx fourth term; pickup8thgraf: after the -- lewis sentenced to 15 months; new jackson quotes) x x x December 1988.
Barry has repeatedly denied ever using illegal drugs, and has held himself up as a role model for the youth of a city wracked by drug-related violence that has given it the nation's highest per capita murder rate.
Clarke, a candidate for mayor, called Barry's arrest 'a tragic moment in our city's history.' Councilman Harry Thomas called it a 'sad state of affairs for the city.'
The dramatic turn in city politics also could mean the entrance of Jesse Jackson, the two-time Democratic presidential candidate and prominent civil rights leader, into the mayoral race.
Jackson moved to the district this summer amid speculation he wanted Barry's job, but has maintained he would not seek the office if Barry runs for a fourth term.
Jackson said he had talked to Effi Barry Thursday night and was 'concerned about her capacity to maintain her strength through the crisis.'
'I have not talked with the mayor, but I am concerned about the well-being of that family and they have my support, my sympathy and concern for their health and their well-being,' he said.
Barry has been dogged by allegations of drug use for at least five years, but among the most damaging allegations stemmed from his visits to Lewis.
Last Nov. 6, Lewis testified he sold crack cocaine to Barry from the Ramada Inn in December 1988. The statement came during a plea-bargain hearing at which Lewis pleaded guilty to two cocaine distribution charges. Barry later accused federal investigators of coercing Lewis, and said Lewis would 'lie on the pope' for a reduced sentence.
Ironically, Lewis was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison. Stephens said the sting operation stemmed directly from the investigation of Barry that began with the Ramada Inn incident.
After the Ramada Inn probe came to light, anindignant Barry stood before national television cameras and declared his innocence, claiming to have been 'tried, convicted and sentenced' by the media.
Barry was arrested Thursday at the Vista in downtown Washington, about two blocks from the Ramada Inn.
During Barry's tenure, at least a dozen city officials have been convicted of crimes in office.
In 1985, Karen Johnson, a low-level city employee with whom Barry admitted having a 'personal relationship,' was convicted of selling cocaine. She served an 18-month prison term for contempt of court after she refused to testify to a grand jury about allegations she sold cocaine to Barry himself. A grand jury found no evidence against Barry.
Barry's latest national controversy flared Jan. 7 over a Los Angeles Times profile of him. Barry reportedly boasted about his sexual ability and when asked about the possibility of Jackson running against him, said that Jackson 'don't want to run nothing but his mouth.'
Barry later demanded an apology from the paper, which he did not get, and said the story contained 'factual inaccuracies' and 'blatant lies.'
In December, Barry took the unusual step of allowing reporters to look at his medical records from three hospital stays in 1983, after a televised report that the mayor had allegedly been treated for cocaine overdoses.
The records showed Barry was treated for chest pains and a hiatal hernia but none indicated if Barry showed signs of drug use.
Barry, a native of Itta Bena, Miss., came to the nation's capital in 1965 to help organize the local office of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and quickly developed a reputation as a leading black activist.
He was elected to the Board of Education in 1971 and was its president until 1974, when he won an at-large seat on the City Council.
He was easily re-elected in 1976, and in 1978 successfully challenged the city's first elected mayor, Walter Washington. He handily won re-election in 1982 and 1986.
With Barry at his side, Munday told reporters after the hearing that he would plead not guilty. Barry then spoke briefly. 'Because this matter is in court, unfortunately, I cannot comment or react to or give you information about this particular charge,' he said. ' ... I'm going to leave here and go about the business of government.'
The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, said Barry was videotaped smoking crack cocaine after he was lured to the Vista International Hotel by a female friend who was working with the FBI.
Barry planned to meet later Friday with his cabinet to discuss how to deal with the blossoming political crisis. Barry could turn control of the city's day-to-day operations to another -- most likely City Administrator Carol Thompson -- but he is not required to by law.
Barry, a former civil rights activist and three-term mayor who had planned to officially open a campaign for a fourth term on Sunday, was released from custody about four hours after his arrest and being processed at FBI headquarters.
U.S. Attorney Jay Stephens said Barry was the target of the undercover operation but denied that Barry was entrapped.
'I think the events of last night are a personal tragedy for the defendant in this case but narcotics abuse and the violence that has followed the narcotics abuse in this city is also a tragedy for many of the people in this city: For the kids of this community, for their families and for their communities,' he said.
'I have said many times that narcotics abuse is not a victimless crime. Our families are victims. Our children are victims. Our communities are victims. I think as last night's events demonstrated, even a city can be a victim.'
Barry had been under federal investigation for a year, ever since visiting Charles Lewis -- a friend and former city worker later convicted of drug dealing -- at a downtown Ramada Inn in December 1988.
Barry has repeatedly denied ever using illegal drugs, and has held himself up as a role model for the youth of a city wracked by drug-related violence that has given it the nation's highest per capita murder rate.
D.C. City Council Chairman David Clarke called Barry's arrest 'a tragic moment in our city's history.' Councilman Harry Thomas called it a 'sad state of affairs for the city.'
Barry has been dogged by allegations of drug use for at least five years, but among the most damaging allegations stemmed from his visits to Lewis.
