Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich declared war against two Baltimore Sun writers, claiming that they failed to report on his administration objectively. In November, Ehrlich prohibited executive branch agencies from responding to inquiries from David Nitkin, The Sun's State House bureau chief, or Michael Olesker, a columnist. The Sun sued and lost. On Valentine's Day, a federal judge ruled that Ehrlich was within his legal rights to block the writers' access. The paper is appealing.

What is happening to The Sun's writers and to reporters elsewhere is being closely watched by media defenders. Matthew Felling, media director for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, said the freeze on access is a piece of a larger trend. "It's open season on the news media, and Americans don't seem to grasp how each shot at the press weakens democracy," he said.

Mayors give press the silent treatment, More officials ban reporters as revenge by Amanda Garrett, Plain Dealer Reporter, March 12, 2005 [complete article]

A week before Joseph Steffen was revealed as the author of Internet postings about the personal life of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s top political rival, he wrote to the governor's wife with an offer to "throw myself on the grenade" to head off a scandal. First lady Kendel S. Ehrlich replied, "Relax. You'll be fine. We need you," and signed the e-mail "Ken."

The next day, Feb. 8, Ehrlich fired Steffen for posting the rumors, and the longtime aide who called himself "the Prince of Darkness" has become the focus of two investigations - about political dirty tricks and his alleged role in the politically motivated dismissals of scores of state workers.

The exchange between Steffen and Kendel Ehrlich was found in roughly 14,500 pages of e-mails and other documents released by attorneys for the governor yesterday in response to Maryland Public Records Act requests from The Washington Post and nine other news agencies.

The stacks of documents, quickly pored over and sorted by reporters from a dozen news agencies working in concert, appear to do nothing to illuminate Steffen's boast on the Internet: that he knew of an orchestrated effort to "give float" to rumors that Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley had an extramarital affair. O'Malley has denied that.

They do, however, speak to claims by several fired employees that Steffen was involved in efforts to purge state agencies of political foes. In a June 2004 note to the governor's deputy appointments secretary, for instance, Steffen asked for a list in his new agency, the independent Maryland Insurance Administration, of the employees who could be fired at will.

[...]

While Ehrlich aides continued yesterday to describe Steffen as an "irrelevant" mid-level functionary, the e-mails present him as someone who was on familiar terms with the governor and his closest aides. In an April 2003 e-mail, Steffen said it was Ehrlich who gave him the "Prince of Darkness" moniker "during his 1994 run for congress." And he described occasions when both Ehrlich and Hogan shouted, "Prince of Darkness!" when Steffen entered a crowded room....

Steffen E-Mails Imply Closer Link to Ehrlich, New Light Shed on Aide's Role in Firings by Matthew Mosk, Washington Post Staff Writer: March 12, 2005; Page A01 [complete article]