Moore and Scott have some Splining to Do!

Marylanders are entitled to transparency, accountability, and answers from Wes Moore and Brandon Scott, not another round of excuses.  They work for us, not the other way around

Marylanders are tired of being told that every controversy is either an honest mistake, a misunderstanding, a procedural disagreement, or somebody else’s fault. At some point, public officials have to answer for the record before them.

That applies to Gov. Wes Moore and to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

Start with Moore. In 2006, while applying for a White House Fellowship, Moore wrote that he had been awarded the Bronze Star. He had not actually received it. Years later, he was introduced in national television appearances as a Bronze Star recipient and did not correct the record. During the 2022 governor’s race, Moore pushed back against suggestions that he personally had falsely claimed the medal. Then the old fellowship application surfaced.

Moore called it an honest mistake, not an intentional mistake, right?   Then, like a child who willfully broke the rules said, “…I am sorry…”.   His former commander backed his explanation that the award had been recommended and was expected to be processed. The medal was ultimately awarded in December 2024. Fine. That explains part of the story. It does not erase the obvious question: Why did the record remain wrong for so long?

Then there are the other biography questions. Reporting during Moore’s rise revisited descriptions of his Baltimore upbringing and a college football honor that had been inaccurately described. None of that proves an ethics violation. But voters are allowed to ask whether a politician’s carefully polished biography corresponds to the facts.

Money questions deserve the same treatment.  Moore’s campaign accepted contributions from Terry Speigner while Speigner’s company was a subcontractor on a team pursuing a Maryland lottery contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  Yeah, Team Moore had no idea how this happened, right?  The campaign later returned the contributions. That is not proof of a payoff, and nobody should pretend it is. But when campaign money intersects with companies seeking major state business, taxpayers are justified in asking questions.

Moore’s inaugural committee also raised nearly $4.6 million, drawing substantial donations from corporations, utilities, contractors, law firms and other interests with business before Maryland government. Those contributions were disclosed and permissible under the inaugural fundraising rules. The issue is appearance. When powerful interests write big checks around an inauguration, taxpayers have every right to wonder what kind of access those checks might buy.

Now look at Brandon Scott.

Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming says her office lost direct access to records needed for investigations. The city fought subpoenas. On August 14, Judge Pamela White denied the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and ordered subpoena responses produced. When the city asked her to reconsider, she rejected the request as well.

That should have been a flashing red light at City Hall: cooperate with the watchdog.

Instead, the fight continued.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General reported that Mayor’s Office employees failed to obtain required waivers for 336 procurement-card transactions totaling $167,455.06, mostly involving food and catering. That finding does not mean Brandon Scott personally swiped the card 336 times. It means the office he leads had a documented compliance problem involving public money.

Add the older campaign-finance questions. Scott’s campaign accepted $5,000 from businessman J.P. Grant and another $10,000 from people associated with Commercial Utilities shortly before the Board of Estimates approved a $12 million increase involving a contract the company co-managed. A retired chief investigator for the Maryland State Prosecutor filed an ethics complaint over the matter. A complaint is not a conviction. But the timing was bad enough to deserve scrutiny.

After came the baby registry, which reportedly collected more than $12,000 in merchandise, gift cards and cash. Ethics officials said Scott had not sought a gift-solicitation waiver beforehand. The Ethics Board later declined to require fuller identification of the donors because it had not been presented with specific evidence that prohibited donors were involved.

This is the pattern that bothers me: not one smoking gun, but one question after another followed by explanations, legal fights, and demands that the public move along.

Every day, Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott are in office, making Governor Agnew look like the epitome of ethics.

Let’s not lock them up. Vote Them Out, Then Lock Them Up!

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Endnotes

1. Associated Press “Following controversy, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore receives Bronze Star for Army service 18 years ago.”
Background on Moore’s Bronze Star application controversy and the medal’s eventual award in December 2024.
Read the Associated Press report

2. The Washington Post  “Md. Gov. Moore calls false Bronze Star claim ‘honest mistake’ after report.”
Reporting on the 2006 fellowship application, earlier television appearances, and questions concerning Moore’s biography.
Read The Washington Post report.

3. Maryland Matters  “Questions about Moore’s integrity arise anew after 2006 report surfaces.”
Coverage of Moore’s fellowship application and his earlier statements regarding the Bronze Star controversy.
Read Maryland Matters

4. Baltimore Sun / Yahoo News  “Moore campaign accepted, then returned, donations from executive tied to firm seeking state contract.”
Reporting on contributions associated with Terry Speigner and NGEN’s role as a subcontractor on a Maryland lottery bid.
Read the report

5. Maryland Matters  “Moore vacuumed up $4.6 million for inaugural festivities.”
Detailed disclosure of the Moore-Miller inaugural committee’s nearly $4.6 million fundraising operation and major donors.
Read Maryland Matters

6. CBS News Baltimore  “Judge rules in favor of Baltimore inspector general in legal battle over access to records.”
Coverage of Judge Pamela White’s August 14, 2026 decision rejecting Baltimore’s motion to dismiss and ordering subpoena responses.
Read CBS News Baltimore

7. CBS News Baltimore  “Judge clears way for Baltimore inspector general to access city records.”
Coverage of the court’s August 24 rejection of Baltimore’s request to clarify or reconsider the records-access order.
Read CBS News Baltimore

8. Baltimore Brew  “Baltimore mayor’s office spent over $890,000 on food, office parties and flowers, IG report finds.”
Reporting on the Inspector General’s finding that required waivers were missing for 336 Mayor’s Office P-card transactions totaling $167,455.06.
Read Baltimore Brew

9. Baltimore Brew  “Former corruption investigator files ethics complaint about J.P. Grant donation to Mayor Scott.”
Reporting on the campaign contributions, the Commercial Utilities contract increase, and the ethics complaint filed by James Cabezas.
Read Baltimore Brew

10. Baltimore Brew  “Ethics Board won’t require last names of Mayor Scott’s baby registry donors.”
Reporting on more than $12,000 in registry gifts and the Ethics Board’s decision concerning donor identification.
Read Baltimore Brew

Rusty Sullivan writes on energy, fiscal policy, and Maryland governance for Direct Line News.

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