Inside City Hall
Mayor Scott’s chief of staff files complaint over Inspector General Cumming’s online post
Cumming apologizes for the video. City rules require complaints going before the Ethics Board to be kept confidential, but this one was leaked to the media.
Above: Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming and J.D. Merrill, chief of staff for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.
Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming today apologized to Mayor Brandon Scott for posting a video on Monday that included an AI-generated image of Scott smoking a cigar, drinking what appears to be alcohol and holding up goodie-laden Louis Vuitton shopping bags.
The video, taken down later on Monday by Cumming, sparked a letter on Tuesday to the city Ethics Board by Scott’s chief of staff, J.D. Merrill, that accused Cumming of “vile” and “racist” conduct.
The letter follows a legal setback for the city, whose efforts to dismiss Cumming’s attorneys in her lawsuit over record access was denied on Friday by Circuit Court Judge Pamela J. White.
Personnel complaints sent to the Ethics Board are supposed to be kept confidential. The Merrill letter was reproduced in full by The Baltimore Banner.
Citing the city code, Baltimore Ethics Director J. Christoph Amberger refused to release the letter to The Brew. The mayor’s press office has not responded to requests for the letter or commented about how it got into the hands of The Banner.
The opening paragraph of J.D. Merrill’s letter condemning Inspector General Isabel Cumming’s conduct. BELOW: Confidentiality rules related to complaints going before the Ethics Board. (Article 8, Baltimore City Code)
Earlier Union Dispute
Writing under the mayor’s letterhead, Merrill called Cumming’s posting of the video “deeply inappropriate, misleading, damaging and racist.”
He further accused Cumming of “politically charged conduct” by reposting other material on her personal social media accounts, including an entry last December by “well-known partisan social media provocateurs like ‘Nick Shirley’” and commentary by “political groups outside the city – entities like the Koch-funded Taxpayer Protection Alliance and the Sinclair Broadcast Group.”
The letter does not allege any specific ethics violation, but indicates that Scott’s top aide has been closely monitoring Cumming’s social media for many months.
Merrill asked the IG board to review the inspector general’s personal conduct to determine “what corrective actions, if any, are warranted to ensure accountability, fairness and objectivity is maintained in the Office of the Inspector General.”
Last September, the Ethics Board ruled that Cumming did not violate “prestige of office” or other ethical rules when she posted information about the AFSCME Local 44 election on her personal X and Facebook accounts.
In his letter to the board, Merrill referred to the Local 44 election, accusing Cumming of “engaging in personal advocacy on local issues, including interference in local union elections.”
Cumming’s posts noted the candidacy of Stancil McNair, who was running for – and was elected – president of Local 44 over the candidate favored by Mayor Scott, who was presented at a news conference at the mayor’s side.
“Accountability starts with me”
This afternoon Cumming issued an apology for the video, saying “accountability starts with me.”
She stated, “I shared a link to third-party video commentary on current events on my personal Facebook account. That video included a satirical, AI-generated digital image that I did not notice and do not endorse or support. I removed the video from my personal Facebook post upon receiving feedback.
“I apologize to Mayor Scott, my dedicated OIG team and the residents of Baltimore City. This post detracted from the important mission of the OIG to investigate waste, financial abuse and fraud. It will not happen again.”
