ayor Martin J. O'Malley of Baltimore yesterday denounced rumors spread by a Republican state official that the Democratic mayor once had an extramarital affair and he called the accusations "despicable lies."Posted on 02/09/2005 8:13:46 PM PST by conservative in nyc
ayor Martin J. O'Malley of Baltimore yesterday denounced rumors spread by a Republican state official that the Democratic mayor once had an extramarital affair and he called the accusations "despicable lies."
In a news conference on the steps of Baltimore City Hall, Mr. O'Malley, standing beside his wife, Catherine, said, "I have always been faithful to my wife from our first date until this date."
Mr. O'Malley was responding to a Washington Post report that Joseph F. Steffen Jr., a longtime government aide and campaign worker for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, had spread rumors on a conservative Web site that the mayor once had an affair with a television news reporter.
After The Post disclosed its plans to print the story, the governor confronted Mr. Steffen on Tuesday evening and demanded his resignation from his position as the spokesman for the state insurance administration, a spokesman for Mr. Ehrlich said. Mr. Steffen, 45, who has held a string of state and political jobs, resigned.
"The governor does not tolerate this sort of behavior from any employee under his oversight," said Henry Fawell, a spokesman for Mr. Ehrlich. "He accepts responsibility for his employees and believes the individual who posted these messages should apologize to the mayor."
The state Democratic Party nonetheless demanded an investigation into whether Mr. Ehrlich had helped orchestrate a "smear campaign" against Mr. O'Malley, who is considered a potential opponent of Mr. Ehrlich in 2006. Deborah Martinez, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, said: "We're not involved in the politics of personal destruction. Mayor O'Malley has a weak record on crime control that we're more interested in highlighting."
Mr. Ehrlich told reporters in Annapolis that Mr. Steffen's behavior was "inappropriate," in part because the aide had apparently sent e-mail messages spreading the rumor while working in his state office.
In an interview with The Post on Tuesday, Mr. O'Malley asked the governor to apologize. But Mr. Fawell said Mr. Ehrlich was not offering an apology because he had not been aware of Mr. Steffen's actions.
Though Mr. Steffen did not offer an apology yesterday, aides to Mr. O'Malley said that Mr. Steffen's former boss Alfred W. Redmer Jr., the state insurance commissioner, apologized in a phone call to the mayor.
Mr. Steffen did not return calls for comment. But in postings Tuesday night on FreeRepublic.com, the Web site where he had spread rumors about Mr. O'Malley, Mr. Steffen said that Mr. Ehrlich had been unaware of his actions.
Using his screen name, NCPAC, after the National Conservative Political Action Committee, where he once worked, Mr. Steffen thanked correspondents to the Web site for their support, writing, "This might even burnish my reputation."
Mr. O'Malley was re-elected overwhelmingly last year and is now considered a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, along with the Montgomery County executive, Douglas M. Duncan.
Mr. O'Malley, 42, said that the persistence of the rumors had led him to believe they were part of a "sustained," "orchestrated" and "relentless" campaign.
Aides to Mr. O'Malley said they became aware of rumors about an affair 18 months ago. Then last summer, they said, the rumors seemed to become more coordinated, with Baltimore television stations receiving the same tips on the same day.
The mayor's wife, a district court judge in Baltimore, said the rumors had even reached the couple's four children. In the news conference, she said one of their sons, William, recently insisted that both parents sign his report card so his teachers would not think the couple had divorced.
"I just looked at him and my heart broke, that this poor 7-year-old kid has to worry about these lies," Ms. O'Malley said.
They're LURKING....
I read this quote from him earlier today...accept as I read it, it was part of a longer comment on his regret at the amount of trouble this has caused. In no way an attempt to bolster himself or "raise his stake" in any of this.
Context please NYT.
Add this link to the ones in the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun and then wonder why we are suddenly up to our armpits in trolls...
**waves to NYTIMES interns**
Someone tell Bill Keller his ramblings in the recent New Yorker article were hysterical.
They may be lurking, but they forgot to report that the Washington Post story is a BLATANT LIE.
Steffen did NOT "spread rumors on a conservative Web site that the mayor once had an affair with a television news reporter." In an earlier post of the Washington Post story, which the Times drew on for this article, it can be clearly seen that Steffen did NOT post the initial rumor and, in his replies to it, said NOTHING to confirm, spread, or in any way further the rumor.
If the Times reporters only skimmed this recent post, they may have missed this fact. But the recent post links to the earlier post, where the plain fact can easily be seen, since that earlier thread was very short.
In other words, the Times has now joined the Post in spreading a DELIBERATE LIE. These people are absolute scum, not worthy to be called newspaper reporters even by the crudest standards. All the materials are there on FreeRepublic, in these two earlier threads. It would take no more than 10 or 15 minutes of research to disprove the main contention of the Washington Post.
Cicero,Bump.
P.S. Someone needs to alert Drudge to the way the Post and the Times have lied about what was said on an internet news source, just as they lied about what Drudge initially said about Monica.
Someone also should alert Rush Limbaugh, Powerline, Little Green Footballs, and some of the other blogs. The MSM have been caught with their pants down AGAIN, but that needs to be made evident. They certainly won't admit it unless they are pushed.
It's a work day tomorrow and I have to get to bed. But this lying propaganda campaign needs to be cut off at the knees before they try to spread it any further.
PPS: Here's the thread on the Washington Post article:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1339150/posts
And here's the original thread. Check it out. You can clearly see that NCPAC didn't post the original inquiry about the rumor, and that his comments do nothing to further the rumor. This is the critical evidence that the Post and Times stories are false.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1190972/posts
Found This on the web:
WHAT IF : POLITICS : WHAT :
MAYOR O'MALLEY AND SADE BADERINWA HAD AN AFFAIR
important ballot by smiling_is_better
ACTIVE Jul 26, 2004 - Jul 26, 2005
They lie. Did the NY Times rehire Jayson Blair?
The original post on FR, not by NCPAC, simply was asking people to figure out what the truth was. Many, if not, most replies debunked, cast doubt upon, or did not lend credence to the rumors.
The media now has NCPAC feeding the rumor, but the facts of the Post story do NOT support that conclusion. Instead, NCPAC commented on the rumor and said that a lot of effort was made to float the story.
That effort to float the story could easily have been from Dem opponents of O'Malley or corporate lobbyists with non-ideological non-party reasons for opposing O'Malley.
NCPAC even praised a prior post that shredded the credibility of the rumor.
You can read the original thread itself by clicking here, but below are two posts that made it crystal-clear that NCPAC was NOT feeding the rumors. Otherwise, why would he praise velmacruther's highly skeptical post?
To: ElkiejgThis rumor has been around for over three years ... and the identities of the anchorwoman (and the affiliate) AND the alleged father change every few months. At least seven anchorwomen in Baltimore have supposedly had the mayor's kids, or a police commissioner's kid, or a local professional athlete's kids ... too bad "The X Files" was cancelled ... Spooky Mulder was probably the only one who'd pay any attention ...
10 posted on 08/13/2004 10:17:17 AM PDT by VelmaCrutherTo: VelmaCrutherWelcome to FR, VC.
Nice first post.
They're also lying. He didn't start the rumour, someone else posted it here.
Ah.. our first zot...
Figures the Slimes would stretch the truth to help out the MD Democrats. They are the DNC's paper of record.
Cleanup on Aisle 15
And 16.
You're clearly an optimist.
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