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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...

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday he wants to determine whether Democratic rivals were behind exposing a former administration aide who participated in Internet rumor-mongering about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley that the governor says he knew nothing about. A place to start an inquiry, he said, was a threatening e-mail he received last month from Michelle Lane, a friend of the aide. --Snip-- Lane wrote the governor that she would release more damaging messages between her and Steffen - the first few were the "tip of the iceberg," she said - if the governor and his staff did not...

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. accused a former state employee yesterday of trying to "blackmail" him. The woman involved said she was trying to protect herself against a retaliatory "whisper campaign" by the administration that could cost her a job. And after a winter of partisanship and allegations of political dirty tricks, the tension ratcheted up another level when Ehrlich(R) stood in front of the State House and charged that there was a campaign at work to make his administration look bad. "We really want to know about any political orchestration" by Democrats, Ehrlich told reporters. --Snip-- Yesterday [Gov....

Republicans and Democrats continued to snipe at each other Thursday over who is really playing politics with the hiring and firing of state employees. Gov. Robert Ehrlich sent a letter to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch saying he would welcome legislative hearings into his personnel policies, but at the same time said there is a small band of lawmakers he did not name "who obviously believe they can use lies and other false charges to make this situation into a political witch-hunt." Partisan politics "used to be a significant consideration in the hiring and...

Maryland lawmakers will convene a special investigative committee to look into allegations that an aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. engaged in political dirty tricks and participated in what one House leader called "potentially illegal hiring and firing practices." House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said the probe will start in April, immediately after the legislature adjourns its regular 90-day session. He said that details of the inquiry have not been set but that it might be conducted with the help of an independent counsel, who would be granted subpoena power. "It's something we've never done, but we've...

Annapolis lawmakers renewed calls yesterday for an independent investigation of the Ehrlich administration's management practices after e-mail messages released this week suggested that a state worker fired for spreading rumors about Mayor Martin O'Malley had ties to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s inner circle. Sen. Brian E. Frosh and Del. Peter Franchot, Montgomery County Democrats, said several e-mails sent and received by fired worker Joseph F. Steffen indicate that he was more than what the Ehrlich administration termed a "rogue operation." In e-mails given to The Sun and other news organizations -- and unrelated to the O'Malley rumors -- Steffen...

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. will launch an independent investigation into the Ehrlich administration's hiring and firing controversies after the legislative session ends. Miller, who has resisted calls for a separate investigation, said he is examining state employee labor laws and has come to the conclusion that an independent investigation is needed. --Snip--- Miller's willingness to investigate comes several weeks after Ehrlich (R) fired longtime aide Joseph F. Steffen Jr. for spreading rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's marriage on the Internet. "We're trying to define our role," Miller said in an interview, noting that he is becoming...

Yesterday’s commentary on the Joe Steffen-FreeRepublic.com story ended with a question. Why is no one asking questioning the identity of MD4BUSH? What to make of the odd freeper’s postings, his motivations, and his mysterious timing? Today, fresh from a US District court’s spanking in Gov Ehrlich vs. the Baltimore Sun. David Nitkin asks the same question-Who is MD4BUSH? The Sun, still smarting from yesterday’s loss-the court essentially ruling that Ehrlich’s ban is not unconstitutional, should further investigate, and even more to the point-push Mike and Mike Busch/Miller to subpoena the postings. Jim Robinson, the owner of the web site says...