(FReeper) Steffen ordered to testify in Ehrlich firing probe (NCPAC/MD4Bush)

AP via Baltimore Sun ^ | 8/8/06 | AP

[conservative in nyc]

Joseph Steffen, a former aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was rebuffed today in his bid to avoid testifying before lawmakers about firing practices.

Steffen, who called himself the "Prince of Darkness," is a key witness for Democratic lawmakers who want to know if Ehrlich used Steffen to improperly fire Democrats working for the state. Steffen no longer works for Ehrlich, and he argued that the legislative panel should have no power to subpoena witnesses.

Harford County Circuit Court Judge Maurice Baldwin rejected Steffen's motion today. The former aide was subpoenaed to address the panel on Wednesday.

A lawyer for Steffen, George Robinson, could not be reached for comment.

Democrats have insisted the legislative investigation should have broad leeway to probe the firing practices of Ehrlich. The governor has said the inquiry is a political smear attempt.

Democratic House Speaker Michael Busch said after the ruling that it was "appropriate" for the committee to have subpoena powers. Busch said fired state workers should be able to hear Steffen's side.

"They deserve an answer from the man at the center of the initiatives to remove them from employment," Busch said.

[conservative in nyc]

This just crossed the wires. There's a very remote possibility that tomorrow could be D-Day in the MD4Bush saga - but I doubt the Democrats on the Ehrlich witch hunt committee will want to go there.

[conservative in nyc]

MD4Bush Ping!

[basil]

For those of us who missed it, could you give us a rundown of what MD4Bush is/was?

[Bigh4u2]

Couldn't he just plead the fifth and avoid the testimony?

[dmz]

I live in Baltimore and saw the article in the Sun this am. This is not the O'Malley rumor business that md4bush and ncpac got into, and got Steffen removed. This has to do with the allegation that Ehrlich used political loyalty as a means to fire state employees.

At least that's how this B'more native sees it.

[conservative in nyc]

For those of us who missed it, could you give us a rundown of what MD4Bush is/was?

Here's my MD4Bush primer, which hasn't been updated since last November.

In a nutshell, MD4Bush was a Free Republic poster who baited FReeper NCPAC into further discussing rumors about Democrat Baltimore Mayor O'Malley's alleged marital infidelity. MD4Bush then basically outed NCPAC to the Washington Post, giving NCPAC's PRIVATE FReepmails to the paper, which it reprinted in part.

We still don't know who MD4Bush is, but there are suspicions that he may be Ryan O'Doherty, formerly of the Maryland Democrat Party or another Democrat operative. Matthew Mosk from the Washington Post has admitted that he or his underlings logged on to Free Republic as MD4Bush at least once, purportedly to prove that the FReepmails were real.

[conservative in nyc]

I live in Baltimore and saw the article in the Sun this am. This is not the O'Malley rumor business that md4bush and ncpac got into, and got Steffen removed. This has to do with the allegation that Ehrlich used political loyalty as a means to fire state employees.

True - and that's why I think the possibility that anything related to the MD4Bush saga will be discussed is remote.

I doubt this exact article was in this morning's Sun, since the judge would not have ruled until this morning at the earliest. The Sun says it was posted at 2:22PM. You're probably thinking of the article saying that Steffen was trying to quash the subpoena.

[basil]

Thanks for the information. Now I'm very interested in following this!

[dmz]

I'm sure you are correct about which article I did or did not read. I was responding more to the content of your comments.

[conservative in nyc]

I'm sure you are correct about which article I did or did not read. I was responding more to the content of your comments.

I don't think we disagree that the MD4Bush issue likely won't be taken up by tomorrow's special committee hearing.

It's kind of ironic that NCPAC is being compelled to attend the hearing by subpoena - at one point, the Republican minority on the committee wanted subpoena power so that they could get to the bottom of the MD4Bush saga (which is arguably what put Joseph Steffen and the Ehrlich hiring/firing issue in the spotlight to begin with). There was talk that the Republicans would then subpoena Free Republic's IP logs to get to the bottom of things. The Republicans were denied that subpoena power by the Democrat majority, though, and that never happened.

[dmz]

no we don't disagree on that point at all, as I think the committee would be loathe to bring up the O'Malley rumors again.

[RebelBanker]

Good luck, FRiend! Don't let the b*stards get to you.

[TaxRelief]

So who is NCPAC?

[conservative in nyc]

So who is NCPAC?

Joseph Steffen=NCPAC.

[DrewsDad]

Hopefully the Republican minority will be able to ask questions and direct the discussions toward MD4BUSH.

[TaxRelief]

Are you sure Steffen is NCPAC?

[conservative in nyc]

Are you sure Steffen is NCPAC?

Well, considering that Joseph Steffen admitted he posted here as "NCPAC" to the Washington Post, and got fired because of it, yes, I'm sure.

[TaxRelief]

I'm convinced. :-)

[NicknamedBob]

"... a key witness for Democratic lawmakers who want to know if Ehrlich used Steffen to improperly fire Democrats working for the state."

Prima Facie evidence of agenda-driven politics.

Democrats believe in the spoils system only as long as they are the victors.