Press groups condemn Moore’s treatment of Sinclair journalists

Several national press freedom groups are condemning a practice used by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s administration in response to inquiries from news outlets affiliated with Sinclair and The Baltimore Sun.

In a letter to Moore’s administration, the organizations — including the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists — took issue with Moore’s office sending “routine” inquiries from those outlets for legal review, as Moore faces a defamation lawsuit filed by David Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair and principal owner of The Baltimore Sun.

“We urge you to instruct all Maryland agencies that Smith’s lawsuit against you is a personal matter and not an excuse to send media requests into a legal review black hole, and to cease any other unlawful retaliation against news outlets you personally dislike,” reads the letter, which is also signed by five other press and civil liberties advocacy groups.

In a statement, Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Moore, argued that the premise of the letter is “completely false.”

“There is no blanket refusal to engage. In the last week alone, state agencies and the Governor’s Office have answered dozens of questions from Sinclair outlets,” Moussa wrote.

Last week, state officials approved a contract that would send $50,000 in taxpayer funds to a powerhouse law firm to defend the governor against Smith’s suit.

In the lawsuit, filed this summer, Smith argues that Moore made defamatory statements about him on the MSNOW show “The Weeknight,” when he said that the media executive “had been invested in” by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In the same appearance, Moore argued that Smith was using the Baltimore Sun “to do Donald Trump’s work and to spread his message.”

Lawyers for Moore have asked the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that Moore’s comments“are absolutely privileged” and that Moore has legal immunity.

“David Smith chose to sue the Governor. Having our legal team look over inquiries is basic due diligence, not a blackout,” Moussa wrote in his statement on Tuesday. “A litigant doesn’t get to dictate how the state protects itself, but that hasn’t stopped our agencies from doing their jobs for the people of Maryland.”

Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement on Tuesday that Moore’s actions have been “petty and ridiculous” — even if the foundation may take issue with the defamation lawsuit filed by Smith.

“While we’d certainly prefer that news executives not file defamation lawsuits that could set harmful precedents for journalists, Smith’s personal lawsuit against Moore is not the problem of Maryland taxpayers and news readers, and they’re the ones who suffer when the government evades transparency,” Stern wrote.

Moore’s decision to stonewall inquiries from Sinclair outlets is particularly concerning given the governor’s recent condemnation of President Donald Trump’s decision to ban journalists from certain news outlets from the White House.

“It’s particularly offensive that Moore seeks to boost his national profile by slamming the Trump administration’s unconstitutional attempts to ban disfavored media outlets from the White House when he’s engaged in such similar antics himself,” Stern wrote. “Moore should sit this one out and clean up his own house instead.”

The Baltimore Sun has reported that Moore’s agencies have been responding to Sun journalists’ inquiries with the following message.

“Because of the current lawsuit from Sinclair’s Executive Chairman, David D. Smith, against the Governor, we’re sending all media requests from Sinclair-affiliated outlets to our legal team for review. We’ll get back to you once that’s finished.”

The message has also been sent to journalists at Sinclair’s television stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. — FOX45 News and 7News — along with reporters at Spotlight on Maryland, a collaboration between the television stations and The Sun.

Moore’s “blanket refusal to answer inquiries from these news outlets” is “indicative of retaliatory motives on your part,” the press freedom groups wrote in their letter.

“Whatever concerns you have about Sinclair outlets’ coverage of you and Smith’s potential involvement in that coverage can be addressed by using your enormous platform to refute untrue or unfair reporting,” the letter reads.