BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A Baltimore City judge denied City Hall’s attempt to get clarification or reconsideration of an earlier court order requiring the city to “promptly” turn over responses to outstanding subpoenas from the Office of Inspector General.
Judge Pamela White issued the one-page order Monday, denying the city’s Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment for Clarification or, in the Alternative, for Reconsideration.
The latest ruling leaves White’s Aug. 14 order in place and marks another development in the ongoing legal battle between Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming and Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration over the watchdog office’s access to city records and information.
The OIG filed the lawsuit earlier this year, arguing the Scott administration interfered with its ability to conduct independent investigations by restricting access to city systems and failing to fully comply with OIG subpoenas.
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The city has pushed back against those claims, arguing the OIG is not entitled to unrestricted access to city information and that certain records can be withheld or redacted under the Maryland Public Information Act, MPIA, and other legal protections.
That dispute came to a head in White’s Aug. 14 decision denying the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
White concluded that “[t]he jurisdiction of the OIG to perform its work, including the issuance and enforcement of its subpoenas, is not in conflict with or restricted by” the MPIA.
The judge determined OIG subpoenas are legal orders compelling the production of evidence rather than public records requests subject to the MPIA.
White also ordered the city to “promptly identify and produce to Plaintiffs the entirety of each response” to subpoenas identified in the lawsuit and subpoenas issued by the OIG to city agencies or governmental units since April 10.
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But four days after that decision, the city returned to court asking White to clarify what exactly her order requires.
In its Aug. 18 motion, the city asked the judge to define what she meant by “promptly” and whether her order requiring the “entirety of each response” prevents the city from withholding or redacting information it believes is protected.
City attorneys also asked White to reconsider portions of the Aug. 14 ruling if the judge intended her order to eliminate those protections.
White has now rejected that request.
Her Aug. 24 order does not provide additional explanation or define what “promptly” means. Instead, the judge simply denied the city’s request for clarification or reconsideration, leaving the language of her original order unchanged. However, the latest order does not establish a new specific deadline for the city to turn over the information.
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The dispute over access to city records is part of a broader legal fight between the OIG and City Hall.
The OIG has argued that restrictions placed on its access to city information have hindered its ability to investigate potential fraud, waste and abuse. The city, meanwhile, has disputed the scope of the OIG’s authority and argued that the watchdog is not entitled to what city attorneys have characterized in previous filings as “carte blanche” access to city records.
The case is not over.
The Aug. 14 ruling drew a strong reaction from Mark Lee Greenblatt, the former U.S. Department of the Interior inspector general, who told FOX45 News the decision was a significant win for the city watchdog.
“This was as good a decision as the inspector general could have possibly hoped for. And on the flip side, as bad a decision as the mayor had feared,” Greenblatt said following the Aug. 14 ruling.
Greenblatt said the decision could have implications beyond the dispute between Cumming and Baltimore City Hall, particularly because of White’s conclusions about the Maryland Public Information Act and OIG subpoenas.
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He also argued the city should stop fighting over access to the information and comply with the OIG’s requests.
“Let’s just open up the books, give the IG what she wants, be transparent and move this forward,” Greenblatt said.
A protracted legal fight could put City Hall in a more difficult position, Greenblatt said.
“The mayor and the city solicitor have some real thinking to do about how to move forward and to not make the situation worse for themselves,” he said.
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Sends tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
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