Susan McIntire, Towson: Do you really believe that [Gov. Robert L.] Ehrlich [Jr.] had never heard of the rumors, as he was quoted in The Sun?
Nitkin: Susan, Gov. Ehrlich has now refined his answer, and has said "you have to have been under a rock" not to have heard the rumor. He blames his earlier answer about saying he had never heard the rumor on the swirl of questions surrounding him one day last week.
Alisa Bralove-Scherr, Owings Mills: What is The Sun's rationale for not reporting on the rumor sooner? It's been out there for quite a while, and whether it's true or false, hasn't the existence of it been news for some time now?
Nitkin: Alisa, let's distinguish between "reporting" on the rumor and actually publishing a story on it. The Sun did investigate tips it received surrounding the rumor, and, it is safe to say, none of them have been verified. But even if they had been, there is no guarantee a story would have appeared in the paper.
After pursuing the reporting and finding evidence, there would have been a whole series of discussions about whether the information would have warranted a news story. Factors we would have considered would have been whether the situation was some sort of violation of public -- not just private -- trust; and whether public resources were involved or impacted.
Susan Steele, Baltimore: If Steffen was just "reporting" on rumors that he heard, who (specifically) was he hearing it from and where did that person(s) get the "information"?
Nitkin: Susan, it sure is hard to find the one, single person who was the originator of a story or rumor. Who started the story about Mikey, the Life cereal kid, dying after eating Pop Rocks? Suffice to say, the rumor is out there. There is no proof yet that Steffen was the source of it.
Bob Price, Lutherville: In his Feb. 10 column, [The Sun's] Dan Rodricks wrote that Joe Steffen is the "source of ... rumors" about Martin O'Malley. Has it been established or is there any evidence that Steffen is the "source" of the rumors rather than merely one of perhaps thousands of people who have been repeating a rumor that has been circulating for years?
Nitkin: Bob, no. There is no solid evidence that Steffen is the source of the rumors. In fact, posters on the FreeRepublic Web site, which Steffen was using, note that it would be a strange tactic to use a site devoted national politics to spread what is really a local or regional rumor.
Jeff Wilson, Baltimore: If the rumors about the mayor have been going around for months, how come it is coming out now that somebody from a rival party mentions it?
Nitkin: Jeff, the reason The Sun published the story last week was because the governor immediately forced the resignation of his aide, Steffen, after learning he had posted e-mails about the rumor. The information was provided to the governor by The Washington Post, which, likely, would have published a story that day even if Steffen had not been forced to resign, based on being able to link Steffen to the Internet postings.
For The Sun, the firing was the triggering, newsworthy event. Additionally, we followed up because O'Malley spoke publicly the next day for the first time, addressing the rumors and refuting them. We did not publish a story prior to last week because the rumors were just that -- rumors, and unsubstantiated ones at that.
Ray Van de Castle, Hanover, Pa.: This sounds like something Karl Rove would push from his White House office; is there any connection between Steffen and Rove -- maybe a seminar on dirty politics?
Nitkin: Ray, that's an interesting question. There is a connection between Steffen and Lee Atwater through the National Conservative Political Action Committee, where Steffen used to work. After [Baltimore Mayor Martin] O'Malley's re-election last year, Senate President Mike Miller sent the mayor a copy of a lengthy Atlantic magazine article on Rove and his tactics, and told the mayor "this is what you are up against." We know of no connection between Steffen and Rove.
Hit your lists if you got 'em.
Congressman Billybob
Congressman Billybob
I'm sure that this lawsuit and the result will in no way affect how the paper covers the governor and his administration (yeah, try not to laugh too hard).
And people wonder why, as a Maryland resident, I refuse to subscribe to the B.S. newspaper.
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