[WASHINGTONPOST] Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby and State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, subpoenaing her campaign and the couple’s business records, according to a grand jury subpoena obtained by the Baltimore Sun.The U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI requested a range of financial records related to the power couple: tax returns, bank statements, credit card statements, loan documents and canceled checks. They subpoenaed Mosby’s campaign treasurer and requested records tracing back to 2014, some related to the Mosbys’ private travel and consulting businesses.
In addition, Union Baptist Church received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking information about whether Nick Mosby had made contributions there, the church’s attorney, Robert Dashiell, confirmed. The pastor of another major church, Bethel AME, also said he received a subpoena, though the Rev. Patrick Clayborn said he did not know details of what it was seeking.
Federal agents visited Nick Mosby at City Hall last week, according to two sources.
Nick Mosby, who was elected last year to his post, has not responded to multiple requests seeking comment. Marilyn Mosby, the two-term top prosecutor, also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Their lawyer, A. Scott Bolden, issued a statement calling the investigation "a political witch hunt in its purest form."
"My clients are progressive change agents, making them unfair targets of unnecessary scrutiny by federal Sherlocks. Nevertheless, I can assure you and the people of Baltimore, they have done nothing illegal, inappropriate or unlawful," he wrote.
Bolden said he advised the Mosbys not to discuss the matter, and they will cooperate with Sherlocks "to fight for the truth to come out."
Federal authorities have declined to discuss the investigation. The records are listed in a subpoena issued last week to Marilyn Mosby’s campaign treasurer and obtained under Maryland’s Public Information Act.
The treasurer, Sharif Small, had forwarded the subpoena to state elections officials along with an email about the use of campaign funds for legal fees.
Prosecutors also asked Small to supply records related to the private travel and consulting companies of the Mosbys. The companies listed include Nick Mosby’s firm of Monumental Squared LLC and Marilyn Mosby’s Mahogany Elite Travel and Consulting.
The state’s attorney has said she formed Mahogany Elite Travel to help underserved Black families vacation around the world at affordable rates. She said the companies exists in name only.
Of the subpoena sent to Union Baptist Church, Dashiell said he reviewed its records and found that Nick Mosby had made a negligible donation. "I spend more at Starbucks," Dashiell said.
Emerson L. Dorsey Jr., an attorney for the Mosbys’ church, New Psalmist Baptist Church, declined to discuss whether the church had received a subpoena.
The couple has drawn scrutiny in recent months for business and financial dealings. The Sun reported in October that the Internal Revenue Service filed a $45,000 lien against their home for three years worth of unpaid taxes.