Baltimore fraud watchdog can keep attorneys as she fights City Hall, judge blasts efforts to block records
The bitter battle over whether Baltimore City's fraud watchdog, Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming, can access the records she says she needs to do her job made its way to court Friday.
The judge had strong words for Mayor Brandon Scott's law department, saying they "cut off" the inspector general from her ability to subpoena documents.
In a ruling late Friday, Judge Pamela J. White handed Cumming a victory and allowed her to keep her own attorneys in the showdown.
Cumming posted on X, "Grateful that our brilliant pro-bono attorneys Anthony May and Mark Stichel can continue to represent the Office of the Inspector General as the lawsuit moves forward for transparency of City records to the OIG. Not all heroes wear capes."
How it started
Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming pleaded for access to records after she said the law department abruptly cut off what documents she could get last January and worked to limit her subpoena power.
"The money that fuels government is that of the taxpayers, and the oversight office belongs to the taxpayers," Cumming previously told WJZ Investigates. "The roadblocks for the OIG lately have been many from the law department."
It started when Cumming was looking into a program under the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.
Courtroom battle
At a hearing Friday, the city's law department slammed Cumming for hiring her own attorneys and tried to seal documents in the case WJZ Investigates already obtained—including support from former city solicitors for Cumming's subpoena power and independence.
Cumming's attorney, Anthony May, said the inspector general "has to operate with independence because otherwise it's just an arm of the state."
Renita Collins, the lawyer representing Baltimore City, blasted Cumming for what she called "a power play."
Collins told Judge White, "What she can't do is invent powers that don't exist."
She said Cumming needed the mayor's permission to hire lawyers.
But Judge White fired back that the city's law department "crushed" Cumming's power to get documents, and the judge said the city "made decisions that have cut off and shut down" the inspector general's ability to do her investigative responsibilities to find fraud, waste, and abuse "without being blocked or second-guessed."
She allowed Cumming's lawsuit to continue and said there are "irreconcilable differences" between the parties.
Cumming's lawyer also argued voters overwhelmingly approved an independent inspector general's office to fight corruption by 82% of the vote—and said political appointees cannot control the inspector general's position.
"That was a problem because of the city's sordid history of corruption," May said.
City Council action
It comes as councilman Mark Conway has introduced a bill he hopes will head to voters in November that solidifies the inspector general's independence.
"No mayor should have the power to stand in the way of an investigation into how taxpayer money is being spent," Conway said at the time.
The measure may have an uncertain future.
The day the bill was introduced, Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen told reporters, "I've been a huge supporter of the work IG Cumming has done and of the overall transparency that she's brought to city government. I just need to make sure, for my support, that a bill is legal."
Mayor responds
At an event Friday, Mayor Brandon Scott told reporters, "We will follow the laws of the land, and that's what the solicitor will talk about in court today."
His office later issued the following statement to WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren: "From the beginning, the City has been clear that it is not interested in constraining the OIG's ability to do its job within the confines of state law, and, despite public claims to the contrary, we continue to cooperate with ongoing investigations to facilitate the OIG in doing its lawful work."