Inspector General says City Hall has yet to produce records ahead of November deadline

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming says her office has not received a single document in response to subpoenas at the center of its legal battle with Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration.

Cumming said the documents remain outstanding even after a judge ordered the City to begin producing records and complete production within 45 days. The deadline is Nov. 5.

“There are approximately 67 outstanding subpoena requests,” Cumming said. “Of that amount, we’ve gotten nothing yet.”

The dispute over records and access to City systems has stretched for months. The Office of the Inspector General sued after its access to certain City systems was cut in January. The Scott administration raised concerns about attorney-client privilege and other protected information. The OIG argued that restrictions interfered with its independence and ability to investigate allegations of fraud, waste and abuse.

In September, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela White ruled largely in the OIG’s favor, directing the City to restore the office’s previous system permissions and produce records responsive to outstanding subpoenas issued in 2025 and 2026. The City appealed. The underlying appeal remains pending.

Cumming said the OIG has also received roughly 200 pages of redacted documents related to nonprofit invoices. She said the redactions have not been lifted and argued the material is not protected by attorney-client privilege.

“The Office of the Inspector General has not yet received a single document,” she said.

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The City has previously cited the volume of information at issue in the dispute. Cumming said the lawsuit referenced about 2 million documents, but her office has narrowed its requests based on the investigations underway. The OIG has eight investigators, she said.

The workload comes as the office continues to receive complaints from the public. Cumming said the OIG has 41 investigations pending and 67 outstanding records requests.

“We are the watchdog, the fiscal watchdog of the public,” she said.

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Cumming said the office is still accepting complaints and prioritizing them based on their potential impact. She said investigators are working to complete existing cases and release reports when they can.

One report released by the office recently had been in progress for nearly two years, she said. Cumming attributed the delay in part to what she described as the impact and obstruction the office has experienced during the dispute.

The judge’s order gives the City until Nov. 5 to complete production of records responsive to the subpoenas. Cumming said the OIG is tracking the deadline and hopes the City will comply.

Asked what would happen if the records are not produced on time, Cumming said the office could return to court.

“Then we will once again be back into the contempt of court situation we were before,” she said. “Hoping that does not happen.”

The OIG previously asked the court to hold the City in civil contempt over access issues. The office later withdrew that petition after saying it believed its access had been restored, while reserving the ability to return to court if it found the City had not complied.

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