Today is the last day of the 2023 Legislative Session.  There will be much more to come on that topic.  Today I wanted to make you aware of the letter that several other conservative legislators sent to the Department of Justice, the Federal Election Committee, and the Special Prosecutor of the State of Maryland regarding the potential campaign violations of ACT Blue.   

PRESS RELEASE

April 10, 2023

Contact: Louisa Baucom 443-386-5191

MARYLAND LEGISLATORS ASK FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE CAMPAIGN FINANCE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING

Today, Maryland Legislators have sent a letter to State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard, along with the Federal Election Commission, The Department of Justice, and the Maryland State Board of Elections, requesting an investigation into potential campaign finance irregularities. The allegations stem from a recent video released by James O’Keefe that appears to show massive contribution fraud by individuals in Annapolis.

The video shows individuals asked if they had donated thousands to Act Blue. It alleges that over $200,000 was contributed in the name of one Maryland resident.

The letter urges State Prosecutor Howard to investigate this potential misconduct and take appropriate action against those responsible for wrongdoing. In addition, the legislators emphasize the importance of oversight and accountability in the political process, so they call for a prompt investigation.

"Campaign finance irregularities are a serious matter that cannot be ignored. We must ensure that our political process remains fair and free of corruption, and any individuals responsible for such activities must be held accountable." - Delegate Matt Morgan said

Delegate Kathy Szeliga said, "It is essential that any potential misconduct be properly investigated and addressed. This reminds all elected officials of our obligation to ensure transparency and accountability in the democratic process."

"The data is alarming and needs to be thoroughly investigated to ensure confidence in our elections. Any wrongdoing must be exposed and addressed to the fullest extent of the law," said Delegate Nicholaus Kipke.

The public is encouraged to contact their local representatives with any questions or concerns.

Letter 

April 10, 2023

Charlton T. Howard, III

Maryland State Prosecutor

300 East Joppa Road, Suite 21286

Towson, MD 21286

Office of Inspector General

Federal Election Commission

1050 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20463

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

Maryland State Board of Elections

151 West Street,

Suite 200

Annapolis, MD 21401

Dear State Prosecutor Howard, et al, 

We are writing today to request an investigation of campaign finance irregularities in Maryland. 

We were shocked and concerned to see the recent video from James O’Keefe, which appears to expose massive campaign contribution fraud. The video can be viewed here:

https://youtu.be/RnKCPK_OACc

The people being interviewed have allegedly been used for logging multiple campaign contributions to Act Blue, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet when asked- these people have said that while they have made some donations, they were sure it was not in the quantity and amount that is recorded on the books. The video shows individuals in Annapolis, Maryland, asked if they had made these donations. In one instance, $217,000.00 was made through twelve thousand separate donations over three years in the name of one Maryland resident. 

If these allegations are true, this represents a serious issue that needs to be quickly resolved. 

It is essential for proper oversight and accountability that this potential misconduct is thoroughly investigated and addressed. We have obtained data that supports the O'Keefe claims, which we will send in a separate and private email.

We urge you to immediately investigate these claims and any other potential campaign finance irregularities. The public has a right to know that the political process remains fair and free of corruption. Moreover, any person responsible for such activities must be held accountable to ensure this kind of misconduct does not happen again. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. 

Respectfully,

I want to thank everyone who contacted me to alert me about the James O'Keefe video regarding the hundreds of thousands of dollars in potentially illegal donations to the Democratic fundraising software Act Blue. After seeing the emails and checking out the video, I believe the issue of illegal campaign fundraising was a severe problem requiring swift action. Yesterday, I offered a floor amendment to a Senate bill that required the Special Prosecutor for the State of Maryland to perform a study on campaign donation irregularities. 

Election integrity should be important to both sides of the aisle. Still, sadly, before I could even read the amendment, the Majority Leader accused me of advancing "conspiracy theories" in real-time. Check the video out for yourself:https://youtu.be/GWcst3anZrI

To immediately call the amendment a conspiracy theory without the slightest desire to investigate the allegations is incomprehensible. This knee-jerk reaction is unbelievable, considering the evidence in the original O'Keefe video shows Maryland citizens being utilized to funnel money to Democrat political organizations. View the original video here: https://youtu.be/RnKCPK_OACc

Even though Democrats used their super-majority to vote down the amendment, Republican members and I plan to send an official letter to the state prosecutor requesting an investigation into these campaign finance irregularities. I sincerely hope we can resolve this issue and ensure illegal campaign donations do not corrupt elections. This issue is very concerning, especially when confidence in American elections is very low. We need to do all we can to root out any unlawful activities. 

One week to go in the 2023 Legislative Session, and I want to alert you to an important bill hung up in the judiciary committee for some unknown reason.  HB233 is legislation introduced by a friend of mine, Baltimore County Delegate Robin Grammer (R), and it was one of our priority bills going into this session. The bill stems from a constituent of Delegate Grammer's who had a horrific situation of a relative molesting her daughter. The constituent's relative was fired months earlier for watching child porn while at work. However, since the law has not caught up to the technology, streaming child pornography is not illegal in Maryland, no arrests on those grounds were made, and the mother never knew why her relative was fired. Obviously, if she knew, she wouldn't have left her 6-year-old daughter alone with the relative. This legislation has been in limbo all session, but I understand this bill is on the committee vote sheet for today. It's time to close the MD child porn loophole and throw these creeps in jail. Maryland cannot become a sanctuary for pedophiles.

Read more at the Duck Pin: https://theduckpin.substack.com/p/why-is-luke-clippinger-refusing-to

Recently I asked you to complete a pre-session legislative survey, and I wanted to highlight to you how much these informal surveys help as we fight in Annapolis to be your voice.

The outcome of the newly approved legislation draws attention to how dissimilar today's Democratic Party is with our region's way of life. Here are a few examples of the survey questions, the survey results, and the legislation passed. I added the pertinent bills and amendment links to each of the survey questions so you can see how many people answered for a given issue versus the actual legislation being passed:

Survey Question #5: Maryland's fuel tax is connected to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As inflation increases, so does our fuel tax. Last year fuel tax went up .07 cents per/gallon of gas. This year the tax is predicted to increase another .07 per/gallon. 

Do you support decoupling Maryland's fuel tax from CPI, which would preemptively stop a fuel tax increase?

Survey Votes

756 - Yes

62 - No

98 - Uncertain

HB 422, the bill I have introduced in the past and once again this year, would have decoupled the Maryland Gas tax from the CPI. While the bill didn't make it to the floor, I offered it as a floor amendment on another bill. The amendment was rejected mostly down party lines.  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/votes/house/0319.pdf

Clink the READ MORE link below.

I am very saddened to learn that the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home has dropped to a 1-star rating by Medicaid. I was made aware of this at a meeting on Monday evening with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Woods. As a result, the State is terminating the contract, and Charlotte Hall will be placed under new stewardship.
Before this meeting, my office had not received complaints about Charlotte Hall Veterans Home for nearly ten years, so news of this surprised me. Unfortunately, many nursing homes have suffered due to the covid precautions over the last few years. By barring access to visitors, the connection between caregivers and family members who usually would bring any issues to light has been profoundly weakened.

The state procurement process can be cumbersome. Still, the Moore Administration, especially Secretary Woods, has a good handle on the situation and a solid plan for going forward.

I support any effort to improve resident care and will continue giving Charlotte Hall my attention.
I have always felt a responsibility to advocate for Charlotte Hall. Only a few years ago, I restored $1 million in funding previously cut from the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home budget from the House Floor. (Link to the video of floor fight.  Link to restoration) I will continue to fight for the necessary funding and resources it needs.

Moreover, I am committed to working with the new stewards of Charlotte Hall Veterans Home and other stakeholders in the community to ensure that its residents receive the services they need and deserve. We should all be doing our part to bring back a safe and healthy environment for the residents of Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. Our veterans deserve nothing less.

Read more on this issue:
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/03/16/moore-cancels-contract-following-concerns-of-neglect-and-abuse-at-state-nursing-home-for-veterans/

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/03/17/legislators-advocates-express-concern-about-complaints-at-charlotte-hall/

All of us should be horrified by Annapolis Democrats' plan for Maryland. It cannot stand, and we must make sure our voices are heard against it.

Today there were several bills that passed the House I know you would disagree with. At the top of the list is HB 547, which allocates additional taxpayer money to the Earned Income Tax Credit with a sizable amount of money reserved for illegal aliens. This money could be better spent helping our citizens. This plan is an insult to all those who followed the proper process for immigrating to this country, and it's unfair to expect our taxpayers to foot the bill for people who have broken our immigration laws.

Up next is HB 705, a bill that seeks to solidify abortion in the Maryland Constitution. This has been an issue of contention since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade; it must be noted that Maryland already holds some of the most progressive and tolerant laws on abortion nationwide.

After that, HB 119 would push gender ideology onto children - a direct attack on parental rights. In addition, the bill can withhold up to 20% of funding from the state if the local school board disagrees with implementing the state education curriculum. 

And then there's HB 556, the cannabis legislation that looks like it was written by a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) intern with the only goal of equal outcomes and pushing pot shops into the rural areas of our state. Many people voted for the recreational cannabis referendum in the last election solely in the hopes of it bringing in additional educational revenue. The Department of Legislative Service estimates this legislation only brings in a pathic $19 million worth of revenue. To put that into perspective, the education budget in state dollars is over $11 billion. Over the years, Maryland politicians have promised to pay for education spending increases with gimmicks such as the lottery, slots, table gaming, additional Casinos, and sports betting. Now you can add recreational cannabis to the list of programs that were sold to voters as a fiscal solution but ended up falling short.

Finally, we come to HB 535, allowing the majority party to manipulate elections further by authenticating unsigned mail-in ballots via text messaging. Not only is this potentially vulnerable to fraud, but it also undermines the integrity of our democratic system. 

Annapolis Democrats like to say we are not like DC. Still, after Wednesday, when Republicans offered 17 common-sense amendments, not a single one was accepted, leaving many believing we may be headed in an even worse direction.

I urge everyone to stay aware of the issues that concern you and make your opinions known. Only through collective action can we have a say in the laws being passed in Maryland. Together, let's stand up for our rights and protect our state from these damaging policies! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you join me in speaking out against this insanity.