Free Republic

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley today accused Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of orchestrating a taxpayer-financed campaign of character assassination by allowing state employees to continue to fuel a rumor about marital discord between the mayor and his wife, Katie Curran O'Malley. The mayor was responding today to questions that it was his wife, and not Ehrlich aides, who first publicly pronounced the rumor's existence shortly after he was elected mayor in 1999. "There's a big difference between public wonderings about a young couple thrust into the spotlight of being the city's first family, and a premeditated, orchestrated and relentless campaign...

5/18/05 BALTIMORE CITY PAPER Who’s Accusing WBAL-TV of Copying Other Media Outlets’ Reporting? LIVE, LOCAL, ALREADY BROKEN?: WBAL-TV reporter David Collins faces accusations of iffy reporting--accusations which may stem from his pursuit of the Joseph Steffen scandal. An anonymous letter delivered to City Paper last week accuses WBAL-TV reporter David Collins of plagiarizing The Sun and of misrepresenting information that had been published months earlier in The Washington Post and the Montgomery County Gazette as his own exclusive reporting. Collins and the local NBC affiliate deny any wrongdoing and say that he is the victim of a politically motivated campaign...

Five years ago, Catherine Curran “Katie” O’Malley, the wife of Baltimore’s mayor, was discussing rumors of an affair with a newspaper reporter. On March 10, 2000, the Washington Post ran an article on the front page of its Style section, headlined “Charm City’s Mr. Charming; Mayor O’Malley Cheers Baltimore On” The Post reported the following exchange: Katie O'Malley found it "demeaning" to see herself in print as "the pretty wife," but her husband can't seem to help himself from crowing over her. "I am the luckiest guy," says O'Malley, and his slate-blue eyes glint. "Well, I'm glad he feels that...

A top state Democrat calling for an investigation into Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s hiring and firing practices said not to expect any formal hearings until next fall. Administration officials said the delay proves Democrats have no evidence state employees were treated improperly. Asked about the status of hearings initially expected to be held this summer, Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, said the legislature was "definitely going to do something," but not until the months leading up to next year's legislative session. That would also put the hearings closer to the 2006 election, when Mr. Ehrlich is...

Kidded by a colleague about his "deviousness," one-time gubernatorial aide Joseph F. Steffen Jr. replied that he had "never been caught at anything," according to an e-mail released yesterday by the Maryland Insurance Administration. The e-mail, written four months before he acknowledged spreading rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's private life, was among 242 pages of documents released yesterday by the insurance administration in response to a freedom of information request by The Sun, The Washington Post and the Associated Press. In the e-mail exchange, Amy Stupi, an insurance administration employee who struck up a friendship with Steffen during his...

The 11 News I-Team has learned state lawmakers may be having second thoughts about a legislative inquiry into the Ehrlich administration's hiring and firing practices. During Session 2005, leading Democrats in the General Assembly pushed for an investigation into the governor's hiring practices to begin immediately following the legislative session. But the 11 News I-Team has learned that top Democratic leaders are now thinking about instituting legislative oversight instead of opening a full-blown probe. WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins reported at least one political analyst believes an investigation could backfire -- and may even embarrass the Democrats. --Snip--...

Steffen's lawyer seeks electronic trail to identify e-mail writer. Operators of conservative Web site refuse request, citing privacy policy The Associated Press May 6, 2005, 9:08 AM EDT Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s former aide Joe Steffen is trying to learn the real identity of the Internet user who communicated with him about Baltimore Mayor O'Malley. WBAL-TV reports that Steffen's lawyer sent a letter Wednesday to the operators of the conservative Web site where Steffen and the unknown message writer discussed rumors about O'Malley. Steffen's involvement with the messages on FreeRepublic.com forced him to resign his state job this year.

BALTIMORE -- There is a new effort to unravel Maryland's political mystery -- who is MD4BUSH, the Internet name of whoever communicated with Gov Ehrlich's aide Joe Steffen about Mayor Martin O'Malley's personal life. I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said Steffen is behind the new push to find the answer. *snip* In his letter, Steffen's lawyer specifically seeks MD4BUSH's account information at Free Republic.com, which would include an e-mail address and server records that could reveal clues about the locations from which MD4BUSH logged in. *snip* Miller said Free Republic.com's operator has suggested he'd like to reveal information about...

New e-mail messages obtained by the WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team could shed new light on the governor's claim of a political double crossing. WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said the e-mails are all tied to the former Ehrlich aide who was fired in February for spreading rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's personal life on the Internet. Miller said the new messages provide details about former Ehrlich appointee Michelle Lane who was once a friend of Joe Steffen, the former Ehrlich aide who admitted to talking about the O'Malley rumor on a conservative Web site. --Snip--...

Computer messages obtained by a Baltimore television station may show another side to postings on a Web site that sparked accusations between Democrats and Republicans and the firing of longtime gubernatorial aide Joseph Steffen. Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich forced Steffen to resign in February after Steffen acknowledged to a reporter that he had written online, under the computer pseudonym "NCPAC," about spreading rumors on the conduct of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. Steffen made the comments in exchanges with someone using the name "MD4BUSH," whose identity remains a mystery. After the controversy began, MD4BUSH posted exchanges with Steffen on the Free...

<p>The governor reacted strongly the day after private e-mails between a former aide and someone called MD4Bush became public.</p> <p>Gov. Bob Ehrlich reacted Thursday to the private e-mails that the 11 News I-Team first reported Wednesday. Collins said Ehrlich is using the e-mail messages to bolster his claim that the Democrats are behind an orchestrated effort.</p>

BALTIMORE -- The 11 News I-Team has obtained the rest of the story about what Joe Steffen, an Ehrlich appointee, said on a Web site concerning Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's personal life. I-Team reporter David Collins said the Democrats have used the postings to portray Steffen as a Republican dirty trickster and republicans said he was set up. Steffen communicated with a mysterious Web site user calling themselves MD4Bush and we have both sides of the conversation that was originally done in private. The summer of 2004 sizzled with rumors surrounding the personal life of O'Malley and Steffen got caught...

A proposed investigation into Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s firing of Democrats is moving slowly because Democratic leaders fear it will exonerate the governor, a Maryland legislative committee member said. "You run the risk of finding nothing. That's what is scaring people," said Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat named to the investigatory committee. "They are afraid of finding nothing." Still, some lawmakers are concerned that political operatives on the state payroll are scrutinizing whether other state employees are loyal to the Republican governor, Ms. Gladden said. The General Assembly leadership has started to shift the focus away from...

Attorneys for the Maryland General Assembly were dusting off the law books last week as they tried to determine how lawmakers could deliver on their promise to launch a probe into personnel moves and alleged dirty tricks by aides to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Turns out, it's a lot easier to call for an investigation in Maryland than to launch one. "This whole area hasn't been touched since the late 1970s," said Robert Zarnoch, the assistant attorney general assigned to the legislature. "When we dusted everything off, we discovered the law had gotten a little rusty." Under a 35-year-old...

The WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team has learned that an Ehrlich aide met with an O'Malley cabinet member concerning rumors being spread about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. --Snip-- I-Team reporter David Collins said Michelle Lane, another aide to the governor, met with Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Peter Beilenson in March 2003. Beilenson said most of the conversation dealt with her concerns over the state's foster care system. "She implied that (Steffen) was sort of, I guess the best term to be used would be, like a mole" in the Ehrlich administration, Beilenson said. "I'm not sure why she brought him...

E-mail messages detail a romantic relationship between two aides to the governor that abruptly ended before one was fired, the WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team has learned. Michelle Lane once dated Joe Steffen, who was a longtime aide to Gov. Bob Ehrlich. E-mail messages between the two indicate they had an office romance that abruptly ended, WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins reported. Steffen resigned in February when it was revealed that he had spread rumors on the Internet about the personal life of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, Collins reported. The E-Mail Messages Steffen called Lane "Chelle" and "sweetness." Acquaintances...

Towson nursing faculty member Michelle Lane believes the administration of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich pressured the University not to renew her contract, her lawyer asserted last week. Attorney Daniel Clements said the governor believes Lane was instrumental in exposing the actions of longtime Ehrlich aide Joseph Steffen, who was fired in February for spreading rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. Clements wouldn't comment on whether or not Lane played a role in exposing Steffen. Despite the alleged interference, Lane is still scheduled to teach three courses in Fall 2005. "She came to understand that people in the administration were attempting...

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday accused a Baltimore County woman who threatened to reveal more information about the dealings of former administration aide Joseph F. Steffen Jr. of being a disgruntled ex-employee who worked with high-ranking Democrats to exact revenge on him after she was fired. The woman, Towson University pediatrics and nursing instructor Michelle Lane, released documents last week showing her dismissal came after she made a series of complaints to her supervisors at the Maryland Department of Human Resources about inadequate care for troubled children. Speaking on Stateline with Governor Ehrlich on WBAL-AM yesterday morning, Ehrlich suggested...

When Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. stood in front of the State House on Thursday and called on news reporters to investigate Michelle Lane, he said he suspected a little digging would expose her role in a politically motivated conspiracy to tar his reputation. Instead, lawmakers and public advocates have begun to review documents and e-mails that the former Ehrlich loyalist wrote in 2003 before being fired from her state job. They say Lane's correspondence may reveal something altogether different: deep flaws in the governor's handling of the state's foster care system. --Snip-- Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director,...

Ehrlich: Democrats plotting to make him look bad By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Ehrlich administration released e-mails and a photograph yesterday that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his aides said support the notion that there was an orchestrated campaign to make the governor look bad by leaking information about Joseph Steffen, a former gubernatorial aide. "We really want to know about any political orchestration" by the Democratic Party or Democratic officials, Mr. Ehrlich said. But Democrats said the documents support the allegations, denied by Mr. Ehrlich, that Mr. Steffen was a close aide of the governor who was sent...