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VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

A defiant D.C. Council Member Marion Barry told a packed Baptist church in Southeast Washington on Tuesday night that despite the decision of the City Council to censure him and strip him of his committee chairmanship, he doesn’t plan to fade away.

“I have no intentions of going anywhere,” said Barry, speaking to a crowd of several hundred who were there for his State of the Ward address, which he said had been scheduled long in advance.

“I want to fight for you, still. … I want to uplift you, still. … More importantly, I want to do all I can to put some money in your pockets,” Barry said to applause. “They may take my committee chair. They can’t take my dignity.”

Barry’s remarks were a departure from the subdued tone he exhibited earlier Tuesday, when he pleaded with Council members to spare him the latest in an infamous string of political embarrassments.

The Council also referred allegations of public corruption to the U.S. attorney’s office for possible prosecution. Those allegations stem from an investigation by Washington lawyer Robert S. Bennett, who concluded that Barry took a cut of a $15,000 contract he awarded to his then-girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. Barry violated conflict-of-interest rules and impeded the investigation, the report said.

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