Hours after the FBI raided the home, office and other properties associated with embattled Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh (D) Thursday morning, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) issued a terse statement calling on Pugh to resign, saying “she is clearly not fit to lead.”
“On April 1, I directed the state prosecutor to investigate the disturbing allegations surrounding Mayor Catherine Pugh’s questionable financial dealings with the University of Maryland Medical System,” Hogan wrote. “Today, Federal law enforcement agents are raiding Baltimore’s City Hall, the homes of Mayor Catherine Pugh and the office of her attorney.
“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust. She is clearly not fit to lead.
“For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”
The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday that agents from the Baltimore FBI office and the Washington, D.C., IRS office had raided Pugh’s home and City Hall office and three other addresses associated with the mayor, including her attorney’s office.
Pugh was inside her home during the raids, according to The Sun.
While the state probe into Pugh’s book-selling and fundraising activities may not have commenced until Hogan ordered the state prosecutor to investigate, The Sun quoted law enforcement sources saying the federal investigation into the mayor’s activities began at least a year ago. This was the first public indication that federal authorities were investigating.
Pugh took a leave of absence several weeks ago following a bout with pneumonia. City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young (D) has been serving as acting mayor since. The entire City Council, minus Young, has also urged Pugh to resign. Young has said it would be best for the city if she did not return.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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