Press-freedom groups urged Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to stop scuttling media inquiries from Sinclair-owned news outlets amid his defamation quarrel with the broadcast group’s chair, comparing the practice to President Donald Trump’s recent White House media ban.
In a Tuesday letter, officials from the Freedom of the Press Foundation and seven other press associations blasted Moore for referring routine inquiries from journalists at Sinclair affiliates into “legal review black holes.”
Last month, Moore condemned Trump for his decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from the White House press pool, accusing the president of having a “real problem” with free speech.
But in their letter, the press-freedom groups said Moore was essentially doing the same thing as the president.
Trending
“Personal litigation does not justify impeding reporting or reducing government transparency,” the letter says. “While government agencies under your watch stonewall reporters based on flimsy pretexts, you take to the airwaves to condemn the Trump administration’s unconstitutional ban of news outlets the president doesn’t like from the White House.”
The letter is the latest in a public feud between Moore and David Smith, the Sinclair chair, that culminated in Smith’s July defamation suit against the governor. Smith accused Moore of damaging his reputation after the governor told MS NOW that Smith had close ties to deceased child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and that he bought The Baltimore Sun to “do Donald Trump’s work.”
Now, state agencies have reportedly begun sending a generic response to all reporters at The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 News, 7News and Spotlight on Maryland — even when questions are entirely unrelated to Smith’s defamation suit.
“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 Maryland email responses say, according to records published by The Baltimore Sun.
Moore’s office called the premise of the letter “completely false” and disputed that Maryland agencies are refusing to engage with Sinclair outlets.
“In the last week alone, state agencies and the Governor’s Office have answered dozens of questions from Sinclair outlets,” the governor’s press secretary, Ammar Moussa, said in an email. “David Smith chose to sue the Governor. Having our legal team look over inquiries is basic due diligence, not a blackout.”
The friction began after the newspaper published an investigative series questioning Moore’s military record. Those articles drew mixed reception over their fairness and peculiar byline authors: The stories were penned by Drew Sullins, a Sinclair tech manager, and Sean Lawlor, Sinclair’s chief of security.
New York magazine reported that Sullins and Lawlor went beyond normal journalistic norms when they sent emails to Moore’s office saying that “it’s clear to anyone with even a modicum of common sense” that Moore “has a problem with telling lies that grossly exaggerate his record of accomplishment.”
Moore’s team responded to the investigations with accusations that Smith had weaponized Sinclair outlets to damage the governor’s image and halt a potential 2028 presidential run.
“Marylanders deserve strong local journalism,” Moussa said at the time. “They do not deserve a newspaper being used as a political weapon by its owner.”
Moore acknowledged mistakenly claiming a Bronze Star on a 2006 White House fellowship application. He was ultimately awarded the medal in December 2024.
Seth Stern, the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s chief of advocacy, told The Washington Sun that Sinclair had not asked FPF to intervene, adding that, even if Moore’s concerns about Smith influencing coverage were entirely correct, “That is still not a basis for official retaliation.”
“It is not the job of state agencies to help the governor win a personal lawsuit,” he said.
The Washington Sun has a content-sharing agreement with The Baltimore Sun.
Author
