Free Republic

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. asked legislative leaders yesterday to abandon their probe into his personnel practices and instead join his administration in an examination of the state's hiring and firing. "If you really want the best for the state of Maryland and its citizens, I suggest that the three of us work together to establish a bipartisan commission spanning the legislative and executive branches of government," Ehrlich (R) wrote in a letter to the state Senate president and House speaker. The four-page, sharply worded letter also accused Democratic lawmakers of ordering up the legislature's first formal investigation in...

Legislative leaders repudiated criticism yesterday of their committee to investigate Ehrlich administration personnel practices, saying that the probe is not a partisan exercise but an attempt to ensure the quality of the state work force. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch responded to a series of attacks by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s chief counsel, Jervis S. Finney, and other administration officials. Finney has accused two committee members of prejudging the administration's guilt and has demanded they resign. "There have been a number of politically motivated attacks waged against this committee even before it...

ANNAPOLIS, Md.- A former aide of Gov. Robert Ehrlich asked last year about removing Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's sister-in-law from her state job, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post . The aide, Joseph Steffen, was dismissed by Ehrlich for spreading rumors about O'Malley. E-mails from Steffen's computer show that in July he asked an Ehrlich appointments official about who had authority over Melinda O'Malley's job as a lawyer representing the Maryland Insurance Administration. O'Malley, who was on maternity leave at the time, told The Post that she was "kind of stunned" when she learned about the e-mail: "It...

A longtime aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. who was fired in February for spreading rumors about the mayor of Baltimore apparently did not use his state computer in the effort, according to an analysis commissioned by the governor's office. The analysis of Joseph F. Steffen Jr.'s state computer, made public by Ehrlich's press office yesterday, also found nothing conclusive that would link the governor or his top aides to rumors about Mayor Martin O'Malley's personal life. "Such rumors were not spread by Governor Ehrlich's staff or other advisors," Ehrlich's counsel, Jervis S. Finney, wrote in assessing the significance...

....In the days following Steffen's firing, Ehrlich pledged an internal investigation that would "get to the bottom" of Steffen's activities. More recently, the governor has urged the media to investigate how the story came to light. In particular, Ehrlich has suggested pursuing the identity of MD4BUSH, an Internet user who asked Steffen leading questions about O'Malley on the conservative Web site, http://www.freerepublic.com . Steffen, using the screen name NCPAC, had discussed the rumors before MD4BUSH appeared on the site. WBAL commentators yesterday stressed that Catherine O'Malley had raised the issue publicly long before Steffen had. Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's communications...

ANNAPOLIS -- A consultant's study of a computer used by Joseph Steffen found no evidence that the former aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. used the equipment to spread rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, the governor's chief legal adviser said today. Jervis Finney also said the consultant found no evidence on the computer to indicate that Ehrlich or any of his staff were involved in spreading rumors that the Baltimore mayor and likely candidate for governor next year had been unfaithful to his wife. "All aspects of the investigation are continuing," Finney said in a letter to House...

BALTIMORE - The mayor Wednesday accused Gov. Robert Ehrlich of "cowardly abuse of power," saying he's using a dirty tricks campaign to keep alive rumors of the mayor's alleged infidelity. An Ehrlich spokeswoman called the accusations "ridiculous, unfounded, groundless." The rumor mill began churning in February, when The Washington Post reported an Ehrlich aide was posting rumors on the Internet that Mayor Martin O'Malley had an extramarital affair. The Democratic mayor - a possible rival for the governor's mansion in Maryland in 2006 - denounced the allegations as "despicable lies" and the Republican governor fired the aide. The story flared...

It started as a rumor, but the tale of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's supposed marital infidelity, unproven and denied by the mayor, has become much more. It is now a tool in the race for governor, with risks and rewards for the politicians who wield it. Last winter, an aide to Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. was fired for participating in an Internet discussion about the rumor and O'Malley -- who is expected to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006. --Snip-- But the governor has suggested that Steffen was set up by Democrats. If it turns out...

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...

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...

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...

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--...

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--...

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,...