Barry response!

Its 11PM; time for the Saturday night edition of 9News. I’m on the set with my Co-Anchor partner Jennifer Ryan when I get the call from producer Mark Keefer. “Marion Barry is on the phone”! Obviously, I can’t stop the newscast; but Councilman Barry was still holding on the line 28 minutes and thirty seconds after the broadcast was over and I was walking back into the newsroom.

“Lies…its all Lies”! In a nutshell that was the former Mayor’s response to the exclusive report that we just aired. It’s all in the proceeding blog so I’ll just go with Barry’s comments here.

Mr. Barry confirms that he was in his Probation Officer’s quarters at the US the District Courthouse on Friday after his minor traffic accident hours before at 12:05am; but Barry insists the “random “ test was expected and he had a previously scheduled meeting with his PO for that day anyway. Our sources say Barry is playing real loose with his facts.

Barry says he took the urine test and learned immediately that it came back negative, like the other tests he has taken since his probation began. I checked back with our sources. They say Barry is probably right! There are two types of tests. One goes out for a few days to a private lab. The other is conducted right on the spot.

Barry says he was not told he could not leave town. “That’s another lie”! According to the Councilman. Our sources say, again Barry is not telling the truth. The Councilman wanted to fly out of town to visit a relative; but was told No! He had unfinished business with the PO...

The one thing Marion Barry does volunteer and my sources confirm is that he refused to allow US Capitol police to administer an alcohol breathalyzer test to him on the spot at first and south capitol streets early Friday morning.

Barry says he didn’t trust Capitol Police so he insisted that he be driven to MPD’s nearest station where he was tested and showed very little alcohol in his system. Barry told me by phone (It’s now 2:05 Sunday morning) that he had a small glass of champagne Friday night. He refused to say if he had been drinking when questioned by Lesli Foster on the air Sunday morning. Barry says he will fight the citation he was given for allegedly pulling his car from a parking space into the path of a Sports Utility Vehicle. He also charged that there are elements in the federal establishment that are trying to discredit them and this reporter and station should know better…..