He doesn't think he did anything illegal, but Marion Barry has apologized for failing to use what he termed "good judgment" when he hired girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt under a personal services contract with his office, WRC/NBC4 reports. more ›

If you weren't tuned in to Channel 13 this morning, you missed an extraordinary presentation by former Skadden attorney Robert Bennett on his findings from the ethics investigation into Ward 8 D.C. Council member Marion Barry. Bennett, alongside his associate, Amy Sabrin, today laid out in great detail how they found Barry had repeatedly violated ethics laws when he funneled city money to his personal friends and associates, including his former girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. more ›

Do make sure to check out the Washington City Paper's latest update on the Marion Barry girlfriend contract saga, which reveals that a previous paramour of Barry's, Sharon Bowen (she's the one who lives in Ohio), had a job arrangement with the Ward 8 Council member that was remarkably similar to the one that Donna Watts-Brighthaupt did.

Like Watts-Brighthaupt, Bowen was tasked to work in the area of poverty research. According to her personal-services contract with the District, Bowen was paid to “conceptualize, design, plan and execute” a poverty summit for the council’s housing and urban affairs committee, which Barry chairs. more ›

While you're busy wondering about Attorney General Peter Nickles's political future, don't forget our city's other least trustworthy public servant! Reviving the local story that rocked early July, the Washington Post has obtained a bunch of old emails from the office of Ward 8 D.C. Council member Marion Barry, which show that Barry and his staff complained about the quality of the work his ex-girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, was doing for them at the time.

Barry's complaints included Watts-Brighthaupt's spelling, grammar, tendency to fall behind schedule and failure to be available during business hours. The e-mails appear to confirm that Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt traveled together to Las Vegas and Memphis. Although the city paid for Barry's airfare, the government did not foot the bill for Watts-Brighthaupt and did not pay for a $736 spa visit at the Paris hotel during their May trip to Las Vegas, travel records show.

You don't have to be a genius to have guessed that this might have been the case: Tim Craig reports in the Post that Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, the ex-girlfriend Marion Barry is accused of stalking, was hired by Barry as a contract member of his staff after they had struck up a romantic relationship. Barry has reportedly paid his former special lady friend at least $10,000 worth of taxpayer funds for her services as a consultant. You mean to say a politician whose time as mayor is as much known for his totally corrupt job patronage practices as it was for crack cocaine use is still hiring people as favors while serving as the Ward 8 D.C. Council member? Color us totally unsurprised. more ›

We've joked in the past about how no jail can hold Marion "Mayor for Life" Barry, but so far this latest brush with the law for the current Ward 8 D.C. Council member really does appear unlikely to come to anything beyond more embarrassing headlines. more ›