Baltimore inspector general asks judge to hold city in contempt over records access

Baltimore's inspector general is asking a judge to hold the city in civil contempt for failing to comply with a court order requiring access to city records and computer systems.

Inspector General Isabel Cumming alleges the city failed to restore access to certain computer systems as ordered by the court. She is asking the court to impose sanctions until the access is restored.

Mayor Brandon Scott responded on social media, stating that "we will always follow the law."

"But let's be clear about what's happening here," Scott added. "This is showmanship, not integrity."

Mayor says access restored despite contempt petition

On Monday, Scott shared examples of his administration working with the inspector general's office to restore access.

Scott said Baltimore City Information Technology (BCIT) contacted the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) first thing Monday morning to facilitate the restoration of access.

According to The Baltimore Banner, emails shared by Scott show that BCIT asked an OIG employee to complete a form to restore access.

Scott said the OIG filed an eight-page petition for contempt around 1:30 p.m. after several exchanges between the two offices about restoring access.

He added that the OIG said it needed an additional day to complete its portion of the process.

"I will probably need to work with the team tomorrow to iron out some of the password resets," an OIG employee wrote, according to The Banner. "I will test as soon as I am able with the accounts I have regained access to with the understanding that they will not be fully restored until later this evening."

However, The Banner reported that Cumming's filing said her attorneys sent a letter to city officials Sunday demanding that records be provided by 1 p.m. Monday. The filing described the city's failure to comply as "voluntary and intentional."

Cumming asked Judge Pamela White to impose a fine for each day the city fails to restore access.

Scott said Monday that access should have already been restored.

"We are always going to follow the law and immediately I ordered them to do just that," Scott said.

City's second emergency appeal rejected

On Friday, Baltimore City filed a second emergency appeal seeking to delay giving Cumming access to the records. The appeal was denied.

The city's attorney argued that the circuit court's order requiring the city to restore Cumming's access violated well-established Maryland law and would cause "irreparable harm and immense financial burden to the city by tomorrow."

Maryland's Appellate Court denied the request Friday evening, saying the city had not demonstrated that it would suffer irreparable harm without a stay.

"We do not interpret the circuit court's ruling to require the City to grant the Office of the Inspector General access to, or otherwise produce to the Office of the Inspector General, attorney-client privileged communications or work-product generated in this litigation," the appellate court wrote.

In a response, Scott stressed that he is not trying to hide anything.

"I'm not hiding anything," Scott said. "I'm fighting for Baltimoreans to have a system that works. There's a system that exists, like the one that exists in Howard County and in Baltimore County."

"This is just a legal process, and when this legal process is done, we will follow the law that is given to us through that legal process, period," he added.

Judge ruled in favor of inspector general

Earlier this month, White ruled that the city must restore Cumming's access to computer systems within two days and comply with subpoenas issued by her office.

"When the city abruptly and adversely changed OIG's operating circumstances, consequently interfering with Plaintiffs' performance of Charter responsibilities, Plaintiffs identified and established the existence of an actual and justiciable controversy: subpoenas are outstanding, standard investigative practices cut off, access to databases shut down," White wrote in her ruling.

"OIG investigations are restricted, severely limited without direct access to employee emails and data. Plaintiffs' critical role to root out governmental fraud, finance waste, and abuse is obstructed by Defendant's interference with OIG's investigatory performance," she wrote.

White said she was "deeply disappointed" with the city's explanations for cutting off the inspector general's access in January.

She told Renita Collins, the city's primary attorney in the case, that she was "making no sense" with some of her arguments and said she was "stunned" by the city's distrust of the inspector general.

White repeatedly said the inspector general should have access to records needed to complete investigations without revealing the targets of those investigations.

The judge also said she would issue an order requiring city officials to turn over documents related to the Sidestep youth program, which was overseen by the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, or MONSE.

Scott appealed White's ruling. On Wednesday, the state's appellate court temporarily paused the judge's order, saying the lower court must first rule on another motion before a full appeal can proceed.

The appellate court had previously rejected an appeal filed by the mayor's administration on Sept. 14.