CALL & RESPONSE: Doug Gansler Accused of State Trooper Misuse // PLUS: Police & Gansler Trade Barbs Over Accusations

JUICE #1: GANSLER'S USE OF STATE TROOPER DETAIL UNDER SCRUTINY - This weekend, The Washington Post's John Wagner dropped a bomb on Attorney General Doug Gansler's gubernatorial campaign by releasing the results of a Public Information Act request relating to Gansler's security detail composed of Maryland State Troopers. Below we provide a brief timeline of the call-and-response between Gansler, reporters, and the State Troopers, starting with the original Washington Post report (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler regularly ordered state troopers assigned to drive him to turn on the lights and sirens on the way to routine appointments, directing them to speed, run red lights and bypass traffic jams by using the shoulder, according to written accounts by the Maryland State Police.

When troopers refused to activate the emergency equipment, Gansler, now a Democratic candidate for governor, often flipped the switches himself, according to the police accounts. And on occasion, he became so impatient that he insisted on driving, directing the trooper to the passenger’s seat. Gansler once ran four red lights with sirens blaring, a trooper wrote. Another account said he “brags” about driving the vehicle unaccompanied on weekends with the sirens on.

“This extremely irresponsible behavior is non-stop and occurs on a daily basis,” Lt. Charles Ardolini, commander of the state police executive protection section, wrote in a December 2011 memo that said the problem had existed for five years....

You can read the full 2011 memo at WBAL or at the bottom of this post.

JUICE #2: GANSLER EVADES MEDIA HORDE - After the lawless driving reports came out, Gansler called the leaks politically motivated, and at a Monday event announcing his choice of Jolene Ivey as Lt. Governor, he evaded a horde of reporters seeking comment on the story (link to WUSA9 video footage below):

JUICE #3: GANSLER SAYS TROOPER STORY IS COMPLETELY UNTRUE & COMES FROM O'MALLEY-BROWN'S HENCHMAN - After evading reporters regarding the State Trooper story, Doug Gansler appeared on Bruce DePuyt's News Channel 8 show yesterday to address the allegations directly. In his response, he stated the claims were completely untrue and called the State Police Lieutenant who filed the 2011 report a henchman for Governor O'Malley:

DOUG GANSLER VIA NEWS8: That story is 100% completely untrue. The Washington Post reporter knew it was untrue.... That story was based on one of O'Malley-Brown's henchman....

You can watch the News8 video of Gansler's response below (comments start around 6:10 in the video):



JUICE #4: MARYLAND STATE TROOPERS ISSUE PRESS RELEASE TAKING OFFENSE AT GANSLER REMARKS - After Gansler's televised remarks calling the State Troopers' Lt. Charles Ardolini a "henchman," the Maryland State Police issued a press release standing firm on their 2011 report:

PRESS RELEASE

State Police Stand Behind Executive Protection Troopers

(PIKESVILLE, MD) – The Maryland State Police believe comments made by the Maryland Attorney General today about the Commander of the Executive Protection Section are baseless and inappropriate.  The Department continues to stand behind the statements made by seven troopers who made written reports in addition to other troopers who made oral reports from the Executive Protection Section whose concerns were detailed in emails recently required to be released to media pursuant to requests under the Maryland Public Information Act.

In a television interview broadcast today, the Maryland Attorney General referred to the Commander of the Executive Protection Section as a ‘henchman’ and implied his actions were motivated by politics.  This reference to Lt. Charles Ardolini is unseemly and unacceptable.  Lt. Ardolini has served in the Executive Protection Section for almost 13 years, as a trooper providing protection, as a supervisor, and, for the last eight years, as the commander of the section.  He worked under the administrations of Governor William Donald Schaefer, Governor Parris Glendening, Governor Robert Ehrlich, and Governor Martin O’Malley.  

As Commander of the Executive Protection Section, Lt. Ardolini reports to Lieutenant Colonel William Pallozzi, Chief of the Support Services Bureau.  Lt. Col. Pallozzi served as a trooper providing protection, as a supervisor, and as a commander of the Executive Protection Section for 11 years, working for three administrations.  “The role of anyone assigned to the Executive Protection Section, including the commander, is to fully focus on providing for the safety and protection of the elected officials we are assigned to protect,” Lt. Col. Pallozzi said.  “We are to remain completely unattached and unaffiliated with any political party, cause or candidate.  To accuse someone in the Executive Protection Section of a politically motivated action impugns the integrity not only of that individual, but of every one of the dedicated troopers who works in this difficult and demanding assignment.  I have worked with and supervised Lt. Ardolini for more than 20 years and find his character and his commitment as a member of the Maryland State Police to be above reproach.  The concern of Lt. Ardolini was solely focused on the safety of the protectee, his troopers, and the general public.  His actions, which occurred two years ago, had absolutely nothing to do with any political motivation.”

The Maryland State Police believe the members of the Executive Protection Section work very hard to be impartial.  Lt. Ardolini’s conduct was nothing but professional.  His memorandum was the result of ongoing safety concerns expressed to him by his troopers over a period of time that culminated with actions witnessed by the Lieutenant himself.  He ultimately reported his concerns up his chain of command to the Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.  Lt. Ardolini would have been considered negligent in his duties had he not done so.  Lt. Ardolini did not make these documented concerns public.  The documents became public due to a request by the Washington Post under the Maryland Public Information Act.  

The Maryland State Police Executive Protection Section role remains that of protection, security, and safety, not politics.  

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JUICE #5: DOUG GANSLER RESPONDS TO MARYLAND STATE POLICE PRESS RELEASE - Yesterday Maryland Juice received the following press release from the Gansler campaign responding to the statement issued by the Maryland State Police, noting that he strongly stands behind the police:

PRESS RELEASE

PRESS STATEMENT RE: TODAY'S MSP PRESS RELEASE
Silver Spring, MARYLAND – Attorney General Gansler strongly stands behind the Maryland State Police and the members of the Executive Protection Section.  The only disagreement he has is with the conclusions and conjecture of an internal memo. After 20 years of working side by side with law enforcement, he has nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women who make up the Maryland State Police, their outstanding work, and the sacrifices they make every day to protect the people of Maryland. And for that reason, at no time, did the Attorney General ever issue any orders to any member of the Maryland State Police.

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Below you can read the full 2011 memo alleging misuse of the State Troopers by Attorney General Doug Gansler:

Maryland State Troopers Memo on Doug Gansler's Driving Habits

WATCH: Sam Arora Finally Explains Why He Voted Against Marriage Equality // Maryland Juice Corners Him on Live TV

UPDATE: MORE LIES FROM SAM ARORA - AmericaBlog is now weighing in on Sam Arora's explanation for the marriage equality flip-flop, and it sounds like they aren't buying it: "Sam Arora claims didn’t do 180 on gay marriage." In addition, an anonymous reader calls Sam Arora a pathological liar and says his new videotaped response contains more lies. They challenge his assertion that he proposed an amendment to the marriage equality law:

ANONYMOUS READER: At about 1:56 into the first clip -- Sam states "I proposed an amendment" to the marriage bill, suggesting that he was somehow involved in trying to find a path to legal equality for same sex couples (?) other than civil marriage.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing in the formal legislative record of him ever exercising his tiny little brain to actually draft an amendment and submit it for his colleagues consideration.  Once again -- he is trying to rewrite history -- and avoid the legitimate scrutiny that his lies deserve.

All of the amendments submitted to the marriage bill, in both House & Senate Committees, as well as on the floor of both chambers are shown in the links below.  There is no amendment of any kind offered by Arora - not in Committee and not in the full House.  Note that in 2011 Delegate Cheryl Glenn tried to amend the bill  to civil unions and this failed.  Similarly in 2012, Don Dwyer tried to amend the marriage to civil unions, but this also failed.

In 2011, Sam voted to allow the marriage bill out of Judiciary Committee, and later stated that he did this so that it could be considered on the full floor of the House -- not because he supported the bill.  On the day that the bill was considered in the full House (when it was recommited to the Judiciary Committee without a vote), Sam spoke to the Speaker of the House and told him that if it came for a vote, he (Sam) would vote against the marriage bill. 

In 2012, the gutless weasel abstained from voting when it was considered in Judiciary Committee (because he was hoping it would fail again, and that he would be able to assert factually that he never "voted against" the marriage bill).  Ultimately, he had to vote on the marriage bill in the full House, and he voted against it.

Here are links to the legislative record for the Civil Marriage Protection Act for 2011 & 2012:

SB 116 - 2011: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?ys=2011rs/billfile/sb0116.htm

HB 438 - 2012: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?ys=2012RS/billfile/hb0438.htm

 
SAM ARORA EXPLAINS HIS BETRAYAL ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY (KIND OF) - Below Maryland Juice features Sam Arora's long-awaited explanation for why he voted against marriage equality legislation after claiming he would support it. Last week Sam appeared on News Channel 8's NewsTalk show with host Bruce Depuyt. The freshman member of the Maryland House was asked to preview issues that will be debated in this year's legislative session. But as in the past, News 8 took live calls for their studio guest. Maryland Juice couldn't resist the opportunity to call in and finally try and get an answer out of the secretive lawmaker. In his bizarre and convoluted response, Sam Arora now appears to claim that he was in support of equal rights for same-sex couples. Watch below:

BACKGROUND: Last year, Maryland lawmaker Sam Arora made himself the focal point of national civil rights organizing when he betrayed a campaign promise to support marriage equality (see eg: Sam Arora's Equality Maryland survey promising to co-sponsor marriage equality legislation). Indeed, with LGBT rights advocates struggling to find enough votes for passage in the Maryland House, Arora's turncoat behavior created an extremely tense and uncertain environment.

Ultimately, we know that marriage equality would come to be signed into law and approved by a majority of voters. But even still, Sam Arora's friends, colleagues and constituents have sought an explanation for his betrayal. To this date, they have not received a substantive response. Notably, Sam campaigned on the issue and sought donations from marriage equality supporters. Everyone from Bill Clinton to Kal Penn (aka Kumar from Harold & Kumar) tried to contact him and ask him to keep his promise. As a result of this failure, many have felt that there needs to be a deterrent effect for potential future backstabbers.  Based on Sam's interview below, it seems unlikely they will get what they are looking for without a direct electoral challenge for his seat in 2014.

In any case, below you can watch Sam Arora's explanation for why he voted against marriage equality. I isolated his comments on the issue for the YouTube video below, but I also included his full interview at the bottom of this post.

WATCH SAM ARORA'S FULL INTERVIEW ON NEWS CHANNEL 8

VIDEO: Doug Duncan for MoCo Executive & Greg Hall for District 24 Delegate? // Maryland Juice Weighs In on News 8

This morning, Maryland Juice appeared on Bruce DePuyt's News Channel 8 show Newstalk. The two of us had a free-ranging conversation about two hot topics in Maryland politics right now:

1. Former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan's decision to run for Exec again in 2014
2. The stalled appointment of Greg Hall for the District 24 State House vacancy

For those who are unaware of these stories, let me quickly catch you up. First, MoCo's 2014 County Executive race is heating up, and the newest combatant is former County Exec Doug Duncan. Earlier this week he announced he would be entering the race for the Democratic nomination. In the interview below, I suggest that Duncan surely starts with some name recognition but may have a harder time in a modern MoCo primary than some are acknowledging.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Prince George's County, the fate of the District 24 House seat formerly held by Delegate Tiffany Alston is up in the air. Alston copped a plea after facing charges that she used her State House budget for private purposes. The powers that be have decided that means she was suspended from the legislature. She's lawyered up and is challenging that view. But even still, the vacancy appointment process has proceeded, and a group of elected Prince George's Democratic leaders met to select Alston's replacement. The group's Chair Terry Speigner battled local activist Greg Hall for the appointment, but Hall won by a hair. Shortly thereafter, news reports surfaced of the newly nominated Delegate's violent past. Decades ago, Greg Hall was involved in a drug-related shootout that resulted in the death of a child, though Hall's bullet was not the cause of death. Some are now expressing second-thoughts about his nomination, while Hall's backers make the case for his new life and for belief in "redemption." Governor Martin O'Malley, in the meantime, has asked the P.G. Dems to retract Hall's name. Hall too is has now lawyered up to seek a temporary restraining order. The next decision point should come on Tuesday.

Below Maryland Juice comments on both stories (watch video below):

NEWS CHANNEL 8: Maryland Juice & Sen. David Harrington Dissect the Ballot Question Results on TV // WATCH ONLINE

Today Maryland Juice was a guest on News Channel 8's "News Talk" show. Host Bruce DePuyt invited me on to dissect Maryland's ballot questions, along with former State Senator David Harrington. You can hear our thoughts on gambling, marriage equality, and the Dream Act below (two videos):

VIDEO: Maryland Juice & Sen. David Harrington Explain Budget Battle on News Channel 8 // P.G. Casinos, Pension Shift & More

BACKGROUND: This morning, Maryland Juice had the opportunity to appear on News Channel 8's News Talk show. I appeared alongside former State Senator David Harrington (Prince George's Democrat) to talk about what outcomes to expect from Maryland's special legislative session.

As you may have heard, Maryland lawmakers failed to pass a complete budget package when they adjourned last April. The Maryland House and Senate returned to work today to try and pass a plan that would reduce the State's structural deficit, preserve education funding, and impact only the top 16% of earners with a modest 0.25% tax hike. Under the new plan, a family making $170,000 a year would see their tax bill rise a little over $20/month. We posted leaked copies of the budget plan on Friday night. Most observers expect these bills to pass without significant change, and for the legislature to be done with its business by Wednesday.

Watch my News Channel 8 conversation with former Sen. David Harrington below:




The Associated Press today had a quick summary of Maryland's budget debate (excerpt below):

AP: Lawmakers headed back to Annapolis for a three-day special session to approve a budget deal hashed out by Gov. Martin O'Malley and House and Senate leaders....

The Democratic governor says the tax hikes are necessary to avoid cuts to education and other critical services.

O'Malley met with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch to craft the tax plan and other measures after the Democratic-controlled legislature failed to approve a budget plan on the final day of the session.

Outside the special session, Americans for Prosperity, a Tea Party group, carried signs for hours, angry over the likelihood of major tax hikes.

However, the governor, House and Senate reached a deal to raise $250 million in taxes on the 17 percent of Maryland residents who make at least $100,000 a year alone or $150,000 jointly with a spouse.

They will also shift more of the burden for teacher pensions from the state and onto counties.

MORE ON MARYLAND'S SPECIAL SESSION SOON!

TV News Channel 8 // WATCH: Maryland Juice Recaps CD6 Democratic Primary Between John Delaney & Rob Garagiola

Maryland Juice was a guest on television's News Channel 8 this morning. Host Bruce DePuyt invited me to discuss the epic Democratic Primary battle between John Delaney and Sen. Rob Garagiola in the 6th Congressional District.

Watch my segment below - it begins at about 13:45 and goes through 22:30.