Feds Plan to Use Texts and Army of Witnesses Against Kwame in Trial

When the trial begins in federal court in September, the feds will have a big bag of tricks to go after Detroit's ex-Hip Hop Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: Text messages and an army of witnesses.

The Detroit News reported on Tuesday, in court filings, that fed prosecutors said they have more than 500 possible witnesses to try and bury the ex-mayor in a public corruption trial that's expected to garner a great deal of attention and shine a rather unflattering light on the behind-the-scenes operation at city hall under the Kilpatrick regime.

Kilpatrick is expected to fight the feds every step of the way.

One example: On Tuesday, he asked the judge to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that the jury pool has a dearth of African Americans, the News reported. That request is considered a long shot at best.

The court documents on Tuesday show that the feds plan to use in trial incriminating text messages that led to the demise of Kilpatrick.

He's accused of being part of a criminal enterprise that included his father Bernard Kilpatrick, contractor and good pal Bobby Ferguson and former Detroit Water and Sewerage Department director Victor Mercado.

Get the gloves out. This fight will go 15 rounds. -- A.L.