WASHINGTON - The woman at the center of former Washington mayor Marion Barry's latest scandal told her side of the story to ABC 7's Sam Ford on Thursday, and Barry himself spoke to the press for the first time since his arrest Saturday.

The 73-year-old D.C. Council member was arrested Saturday evening on a stalking charge after political consultant Donna Watts-Brighthaupt reported to a U.S. Park Police officer that the councilman, who was in his car following her and her ex-husband, was bothering her.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against Barry after reviewing the evidence. Barry's attorney, Frederick Cooke, said Thursday that he was pleased with prosecutors' decision.

But the war of words between Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt continues as questions about the relationship between the two persist.

Barry gave another press conference Thursday afternoon. His comments dealt almost entirely with his treatment by the U.S. Park Police who arrested him.

Barry said Thursday that he did nothing to deserve the arrest, and that it has "caused great pain" to his family and the community.



He says he was stopped by authorities on his usual route home and was taken to a police station in handcuffs, where he waited for four hours before being read his rights.

Although Barry was cleared of the charges, the arrest brought into sharp relief Barry's relationship with Watts-Brighthaupt, particularly a city contract granted to her by Barry while they were dating.

Barry has insisted that Watts-Brighthaupt was qualified for the $5,000-per-month contract he gave her to plan a poverty program, despite his office having characterized her since the arrest as mentally unstable and unreliable.

Barry's spokeswoman has said Barry, a D.C. Council member, gave Watts-Brighthaupt a $60,000 contract because she was about to lose her home and car.

ABC 7's Sam Ford asked Watts-Brighthaupt about reports that Barry seemingly extended her contract, then cut it off on the basis of how the couple were getting along. "Well, if you knew Marion Barry you would figure that for yourself," Watts-Brighthaupt commented.

She also insisted that the contract was legitimate work, saying, "I earned every penny I got from the District government. It's a wonderful program that I shared and I conceptionalized and I did hard research for. It's supposed to launch any day now."

She also denied her relationship with Barry was "intimate" and rejected characterizations of her as his "girlfriend," saying, "I really wish people would do their research on Marion and they would conclude that there could not possibly be an intimate relationship if they knew his health history."



Watts-Brighthaupt has also said that she never accused Barry of stalking. She said, "I told them to get him home safely."

Asked to describe her reaction to the scandal, she said, "It's a tragedy -- I've paid heavily, my family's paid heavily I'm going to take it as a life lesson."

"I'm relieved it's over," she added.

 

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