Governor's Counsel Raises Questions About Former State Democratic Party Official's Role In MD4Bush

wbal.com ^ | 1/11/2005 | Scott Wykoff

[No Longer Free State]

Governor 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."

[FourtySeven]

Thanks for the ping, looks like things are heating up!

[Albion Wilde]

fancy you should join us and post your first post on an MD4Bush thread... do you know anything about this subject?

In after the zot!

[Katya]

Address seems current, here's a link to his real property information courtesy of the Maryland property tax site. This is all PUBLIC information:
http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/results.asp?streetNumber=2832&streetName=saint+paul&county=03&intMenu=2&SearchType=Street&submit4=SEARCH

[Southack]

"Seems to me the real culprit here is the Washington Post for running the story. O'Doherty, had he not been caught, did a fine job in the dirty tricks department."

The egregious offense committed by the WaPost in the first place was in attributing O'Doherty's (the Dem operative) comments to Steffan (the GOP'er).

Then they compounded that offense by releasing Steffan's identity while keeping O'Doherty's ID secret.

It was O'Doherty who was spreading the infidelity rumor about Mayor O'Malley...yet the WaPost ignored Steffan's comment of "don't go there" and instead wrote an article blaming Steffan himself for spreading that rumor...when it was O'Doherty who did it.

Worse, O'Doherty had "motive." He worked for Democrat Duncan...O'Malley's 2006 Democratic Primary competition in the MD Governor's race.

But the WaPost spiked the information that would have revealed that this was a Duncan campaign dirty tricks operation against a fellow Democrat. For one thing, the WaPost spiked the Democrat's name who spread the rumor...and for another, the WaPost falsely blamed Steffan (the GOP'er) for spreading the rumor.

The Washington Post is involved in this scandal. No other conclusion could be drawn.

[Nita Nupress]

I'm doing well. Wish I had more FReep time, but don't we all? lol!

[MEG33]

To: NCPAC
Nah. I'm not really active as a volunteer or anything But I read some of your comments about Keyes you said you work on a lot of campaigns and in MD doing special ops, reminded me of Rove. I agreed with the stuff you said about Keyes and Mike Steele. Shame that one nutcase doesn't get it. Anyway, just like bloggin away. We gotta be real about 2006 gonna be tough. Might need to play dirty. Most recent campaign activity: Me and my buddies went to the dem debate party at a bar in baltimore heckling Kerry, O'Malley and all the other dems kept giving us dirty looks, we just kept heckling like we were at an O's game.



26 posted on 10/15/2004 2:25:11 PM CDT by MD4Bush (Bush must win)

It was the dem operative who said those words...He of the dirty trick of posing as a Bush supporter, he that sent the freepmail exchanges and ended up getting a Republican freeper fired..
He knows all about dirty..The dems are very good at it...and WA PO helped.

[HonestConservative]

Gosh, you're good.

Fabulously succinct summary.

[MEG33]

BUMP!

[onyx]

I'm GLAD to hear you're well. I hadn't seen your name scroll by since that night I tried to get posters to answer your questions during Rita.

[evad]

MD4BUSH SPREAD RUMOURS THAT SEN BARBARA MIKULSI IS A LESBIAN. THIS IS A FACT INGNORED BY EVERY STORY DONE ABOUT THIS AFFAIR. WHY IS IT WRONG FOR STEFFEN TO ACHIEVE A POLITICAL GOAL SPREADING SEXUAL INNUENDO ABOUT OMALLY BUT ITS OK FOR A DEM OPERATIVE TO "OUT" MIKULSKI (attempting to warm up to Steffen) TO ACHIEVE A POLITICAL GOAL????

Ain't it da truth!!

The thing that bothers me about this whole "outing" thing on MD4Bush is that I have yet to be able to source HOW he was outted.

Once I know that I'll feel better about the whole caper.

[Nita Nupress]

I'm GLAD to hear you're well. I hadn't seen your name scroll by since that night I tried to get posters to answer your questions during Rita.

I meant to come back and say "thank you" again for your help that night, but I got sidetracked and then forgot. Anyway, "Thank you again!" You were a lifesaver. ;-)