DETROIT -- The attorney hired by the Detroit City Council to help it trudge through the legal muck stemming from a text-messaging sex scandal involving Kwame Kilpatrick and his ex-top aid spells out possible options for removing the mayor, but drops the final decision squarely back in laps of the nine council members.

William Goodman's 35-page report summarizes the ever-unfolding political drama from last summer's whistle-blowers' trial through a deal to keep the embarrassing and sexually explicit text messages secret to hearings aimed at revealing how the Council was misled in approving an $8.4 million settlement from that trial.

The report delivered Monday to the Council even names Kilpatrick and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty as part of a "cast of characters."

The special report, expected to be made public Tuesday, accuses Kilpatrick of violating provisions of the City Charter that prohibit using public office for private gain and settling city civil litigation without the Council's consent.

"Recent hearings of this Council have addressed the most fundamental precept of our democracy -- that the voice of the people must be heard and heeded," the report stated. "That voice cries out for honest information, as opposed to propaganda; for accountability, rather than evasion of responsibility, the casting of blame elsewhere and the attribution of improper motives to others."

Goodman's report and the Council's investigation are politically motivated, Kilpatrick General Counsel Sharon McPhail said Tuesday.

They "are no more than a witch hunt designed to further the objectives of certain members of the City Council who would obviously stand to benefit personally if higher positions in city government were to open up suddenly," McPhail said in a statement.

Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she would not comment on the report until after a closed session at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Kilpatrick, members of the city's Law Department and attorneys hired to represent the mayor have repeatedly said he did nothing wrong in approving a confidentiality agreement referencing the text messages as part of the whistle-blowers' settlement.

Excerpts of those text messages were published in January by the Detroit Free Press and contradict testimony Kilpatrick and Beatty gave during the whistle-blowers' trial. Both denied under oath having a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003.

A prosecutor charged Kilpatrick and Beatty with perjury and other charges. They face a June 9 preliminary examination.

As those events played out to a national audience, the City Council went to work to find a way to remove Kilpatrick from office.

The Council passed a nonbinding resolution in March asking Kilpatrick to resign, and at least one councilman has said Gov. Jennifer Granholm should use her authority to force the mayor to step down.

Michigan's attorney general has called for the mayor to resign, and Kilpatrick's challenger in the last election, Freman Hendrix, has told WWJ-AM that Kilpatrick should step down.

Goodman's report does not explicitly call for the Council to try to remove Kilpatrick from office, saying "such a proceeding would have to be done against the backdrop of pending criminal charges," but it does spell out several options.

The Council could start a forfeiture of office proceeding if it finds Kilpatrick has violated the City Charter. Kilpatrick would be entitled to due process, including a hearing, according to the report.

Council members also could ask Granholm to remove the mayor from office on the grounds of "official misconduct," or censure Kilpatrick and wait for a current criminal case to be decided in court, the report said.

Granholm has said she wants to allow the legal action to proceed against Kilpatrick.

The report also says little can be done to get back the $8.4 million paid out to three former police officers and their attorney in the whistle-blowers' settlement.

"As a practical matter, however, at this juncture there is little that can be done to 'put Humpty Dumpty back together again,' so to speak," the report said, adding it would be a "legal nightmare and require a huge expenditure of additional time, resources and money" to recover the settlement.

Goodman's highly anticipated report is the product of a three-day Council probe into the settlement.

The Council has said it was not aware of the confidentiality agreement or the existence of text messages when it approved the settlement amount last October.

Goodman's report also recommends widespread changes in how the Law Department operates.

The report "is designed to learn from our recent history, so that we may go forward in a constructive spirit, rebuild our city's government in a way that will make it even more progressive and more productive, and so that we are not doomed to repeat our unhappy recent past," the document says.

Goodman played a key role in getting the text messages released.

"I'm glad that Mr. Goodman was able to get this document," said Judge Robert Colombo Tuesday. "I appreciate that, Mr. Goodman. That's good lawyering and good work on your part and I think it's a public document and the public has a right to know."

Local 4 Coverage On Release Of Latest Text Messages

Council Reacts To Latest Text Messages

Gary Brown Says Mayor, Beatty Ruined His Life