Live Q&As

Unfortunately, we will not know the answer to that question until tomorrow -- or unless someone involved in the plea discussions talks. But we shall see. In many instances, such as the two Gray campaign staffers who pleaded guilty last month, federal authorities insist on such cooperation provisions. That matter, btw, involves Gray's 2010 mayoral campaign. His two aides pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges when they lied about, or destroyed records concerning, campaign payoffs to a minor candidate in the race. They wanted to keep that candidate in the contest so he would continue to assailt then incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty.

We won't know that until his sentencing. I suspect that Brown's attorney, Frederick D. Cooke Jr., and prosecutors argued/discussed/negotiated the federal sentencing guideline range. In this type of case, it could be something like 12-24 months. But that is just a guess. The federal judge presiding over this case does not have to sentence him within that range. He can depart either upward (the max penalty is 30 years) or downward. We shall see what U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon does. But he has to provide a good reason for departing from that range. Cooke has not returned any of my calls or e-mails over the last few days, so if you see him, please tell him to call me!

Ronald C. Machen Jr. is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and he would most certainly have approved any deal with Brown. Prosecutors make deals such as this to avoid costly -- and risky -- trials. It ensures that a public official is forced to resign and likely faces some jail time. The entire system works because of such plea deals. If everyone went to trial -- even just the high-profile cases -- the system would collapse. Also, I'm not sure that Brown could have afforded a lengthy trial defense. He was at least $700,000 in debt just a few years ago. So it might have been in his best interest to reach a compromise plea to: A) avoid the risk of more serious prison time -- by pleading, he will get "acceptance of responsiblity credit." And B) He is not paying many hundreds of dollars an hour to mount what would be a challenging defense. 

I already answered part of this. No, he won't be arrested. He will appear voluntarily tomorrow in the District's federal court. His plea is scheduled for 11 a.m. Come and see the show. 

I think that is probably a better question posed of Mike DeBonis. I'll email him and get a response for you. If he avoids us, you can tweet him at @mikedebonis.

On Wednesday, Brown was charged with a federal felony: bank fraud. He resigned soon thereafter. Today, he was charged in D.C. Superior Court with a misdemeanor accusing him of a campaign finance violation. Two separate cases. I suspect that federal prosecutors were not able to get the misdemeanor charge into federal court. They did so in the case of one of the Gray campaign workers because it was directly linked to the obstruction of justice charge. I may need to research this today. 

They are separate matters in separate courts. He will have two plea hearings -- one in federal court, to the bank fraud charge. And one in Superior Court, to the misdemeanor. It carries a max penalty of 6 months in jail. 

Nothing. It just shows that they dug into his finances and found that he provided falsified documents to Industrial Bank to obtain a home equity loan and a loan for his $50,000 powerboat, "Bullet Proof."