Oh, now isn't that just CHOICE??? Gawd! Someone ping Tony Snow!
Governor's Counsel Raises Questions About Former State Democratic Party Official's Role In MD4Bush FlapGovernor Ehrlich's Chief Counsel has sent a letter to the co-chairs of a legislative committee investigating hiring and firing practices of the Ehrlich administration.
Included in that letter obtained by WBAL News, Jervis Finney provides the co-chairs with documents he says he uncovered during his investigation into the identity of "MD4Bush".
He points to a now-former State Democratic Party official Ryan O'Doherty who he says sent an email to party supporters hours before the Washington Post published it's first story about the rumors about Mayor O'Malley.
That email document reads:
"There will be a big story in the Post either tomorrow or Thursday that credits Governor Ehrlich's staff for creating and spreading the nasty and untrue rumor about our Mayor and his family. Steve asked me to contact you to see if you could show your disgust by calling into WBAL Radio after the story hits. The guys on WBAL obviously could try to protect Ehrlich, so we need as many folks as possible to call 410-467-WBAL. I will e-mail the story to you as soon as it hits and read it carefully and then call in and raise hell. Don't call in until after the story is published in the Washington Post - It is top secret!"
The Governor's chief counsel, in his letter, then points to an email circulated just after midnight the day the O'Malley story was run in the Post. He says it is an e-mail sent to members of the media with a cropped picture of Governor Ehrlich with Joseph Steffen that was sent from the email address "smitty_1945 @ Yahoo.com". The email had the header ...James Smith.
Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith says that is not him and he has never been connected to that email address and he has never had or used that email address. He says he is not the James Smith in the header of that document.
WBAL News has called Ryan O'Doherty and he has not returned the call.
In a written statement to WBAL News, Jervis Finney says:
"The e-mail raises serious questions about the former Maryland Democratic Party official's involvement in the MD4Bush conspiracy. That is all we will say now. The General Assembly's Personnel Committee, utilizing its subpoena power, is empowered to learn the truth about this matter."
Lowell Stoltzfus, Republican State Senator, says on WBAL that Jim Robinson has proof of collusion between Ryan O'Doherty, Communications Director of the Maryland Democrat Party, and a Washington Post reporter. However, he says that with Democrat control of the Personnel Committee looking in to this matter they will likely not exercise subpoena power for (FR's Freepmail) emails on Freerepublic.