BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Mayor Brandon Scott said he is not trying to hide anything from Baltimore’s inspector general as his administration continues to fight a court order requiring the City to restore the watchdog’s access to City systems and turn over records.
Mayor Scott made the comments Friday when FOX45 News asked him directly about the growing public scrutiny surrounding the case.
“I’m not hiding anything. I’m fighting for Baltimoreans to have a system that works,” Scott said.
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The exchange came after a week of major developments in the months-long legal battle between the Scott administration and Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming.
Senior Judge Pamela White ruled largely in favor of the Office of Inspector General and ordered the City to restore access to City systems and respond to outstanding subpoenas.
Judge White’s September 21 order required the City to begin producing records responsive to OIG subpoenas issued in 2025 and 2026 within five days and complete production within 45 days. She also ordered the City to restore system permissions previously held by Assistant Inspector General Bryan Bartsch.
Mayor Scott has repeatedly said his administration would follow the law. Before last week’s court hearing, he told FOX45: “We are following the law as the law exists today.”
After the ruling, his office said, “We have made it clear from the beginning that we will always follow the law,” and said the City was already working to fulfill outstanding subpoenas.
But hours after Judge White issued her final order, the City appealed and asked the courts to stay the ruling while the appeal moves forward.
The City has argued that complying with the order could create legal and financial problems.
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In a filing with the Appellate Court of Maryland, City attorneys said more than 2.1 million emails are covered by outstanding OIG requests. An outside vendor estimated that reviewing the material within Judge White’s 45-day deadline could require 175 attorneys and cost between approximately $1.9 million and $3.6 million.
The City also argued that restoring direct OIG access could expose attorney-client communications, personnel information, medical information and other protected material.
The OIG has sharply disputed that argument.
In its response to the City’s emergency request to pause, attorneys for the OIG said the multimillion-dollar cost argument was raised for the first time at the appellate level. They wrote that the City had previously represented that it was reviewing and producing records on a “rolling” basis.
“The timing reveals the City’s argument is not credible,” the OIG wrote.
The office also called the expense “a creature of the City’s own making,” arguing the cost exists because the City insists on routing the records through outside privilege review rather than restoring the direct access the OIG previously had.
“Were the City to restore that access, the review cost it decries would disappear,” the OIG wrote.
The OIG said the stakes are not only financial. Hundreds of citizen complaints have accumulated since access was restricted in January, according to the OIG, and investigations once resolved within days have instead stalled for months.
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The City argues that direct access could expose protected communications before an appellate court can review the issue. The OIG counters that the watchdog is part of the same municipal entity and that internal access does not amount to disclosure to an outside party.
“The OIG is not even a third party; it is part of the client,” OIG attorneys wrote.
Judge White’s own opinion was critical of the City’s justification for restricting OIG access. She wrote that the City’s arguments against so-called “unfettered access” were “unsupported by any factual attestation” and described the allegations of distrust toward the OIG’s motives as “vague” and “unsubstantiated.”
She also said the record showed a “developing pattern by the City to delay, diffuse, and deny OIG subpoenas.”
The City initially sought a stay in Circuit Court and then took the request to the Appellate Court of Maryland.
The appellate court temporarily paused enforcement of Judge White’s order while the Circuit Court considered the City’s request to pause the order.
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Judge White later denied that request, saying the City’s “repeated arguments” did not excuse “continued interference with Charter responsibilities of the Office of Inspector General.” She said the City was not relieved from complying with the subpoena and access requirements.
After that ruling, the City returned to the appellate court seeking further relief.
Friday, Mayor Scott said the administration’s continued appeal is part of the legal process.
“This is just a legal process,” he said. “And when this legal process is done, we will follow the law that is given to us through that legal process here.”
FOX45 also asked Mayor Scott whether he was concerned about being held in contempt if the City does not comply with the court’s order.
“We will follow the court, Mikenzie. We will follow the court,” he said.
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
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