The saga of ex-Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh is coming to a close as the disgraced former official plans to plead guilty to perjury.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/catherine-pugh-former-baltimore-mayor-plead-guilty-perjury">reported</a> that Pugh “is expected to enter the guilty plea to the misdemeanor charge at a June 19 hearing in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, said State Prosecutor Charlton Howard.”
“As indicated in the order of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court scheduling a plea hearing on June 19th, I anticipate Ms. Pugh will enter a guilty plea on that date,” Howard wrote. “Of course, Ms. Pugh may change her mind prior to, or during the course of, the June 19th hearing, as is the right of every criminal defendant.”
Pugh pleaded guilty last year to federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges over a scheme involving a children’s book she published herself called “Healthy Holly.” She was sentenced to three years in prison.
“The perjury charge relates to Pugh’s failure to disclose her business interest in Healthy Holly, LLC on her financial disclosure forms when she was a Maryland state senator,” Fox reported.
As The Daily Wire’s James Barrett previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-prosecutors-recommend-hard-time-for-ex-baltimore-mayor-reveal-new-details-on-childrens-book-scandal">reported</a>, a sentencing memorandum filed in Pugh’s case accused her “of being a ‘scammer’ guilty of a multiple years of fraud, tax evasion, cover-ups and ‘brazen lies to the public’ in order to personally profit — and all in the name of ‘children’s health.’”
Pugh used her power as the mayor to sell her books through contracts with corporations looking to gain or maintain a government contract as well as city and state contractors.
“The chronology of events since 2011, comprising Pugh’s seven-year scheme to defraud, multiple years of tax evasion, election fraud, and attempted cover-ups, including brazen lies to the public, clearly establishes the deliberateness with which she pursued financial and political gain without a second thought about how it was harming the public’s trust,” the memorandum said.
The Baltimore Sun <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-ci-cr-pugh-sentence-sought-20200213-i5ljpuivxzf4ngnkbya2qsxnti-story.html">reported</a> at the time that the memorandum “outlined her efforts to conceal her dealings, including lying to FBI agents who came to her house to seize her cellphone.”
When Pugh was sentenced to three years in prison for her schemes, she was also “ordered to pay $411,948 in restitution and to forfeit $669,688, including property in Baltimore and $17,800 from her Committee to Re-elect Catherine Pugh,” <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-baltimore-mayor-apologizes-over-children-s-book-scam-sentencing-n1144286">NBC News</a> reported.
“Among the accusations is Pugh’s failure to disclose book deals worth hundreds of thousands to the Senate before becoming mayor, among them her $500,000 deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, for which she served on its volunteer board,” the Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-prosecutors-recommend-hard-time-for-ex-baltimore-mayor-reveal-new-details-on-childrens-book-scandal">reported</a>.
At her sentencing earlier this year, Pugh released a 13-minute video where she apologized for her crimes, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/baltimore-ex-mayor-releases-apology-video-ahead-of-thursday-sentencing-i-really-messed-up">reported</a>.
“I accept total responsibility. I pled guilty and I’m sorry. I don’t know any other words that could be strong. I am so sorry,” Pugh said.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Catherine Pugh

Ex-Baltimore Mayor Will Reportedly Plead Guilty To Perjury

Baltimore

Crime

After pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion in November, former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has finally learned her fate. On Thursday, Pugh was sentenced to three years in prison in connection to her infamous “Healthy Holly” children’s book scandal, which brought yet more national attention on the embattled city and ultimately resulted in the Democratic mayor resigning in disgrace last May.
After federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-prosecutors-recommend-hard-time-for-ex-baltimore-mayor-reveal-new-details-on-childrens-book-scandal">recommended</a> five years behind bars for Pugh, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow ruled Thursday that Pugh, 69, would serve three years in prison and an additional three years of supervised released.
&#8220;The disgraced former mayor was also ordered to pay $411,948 in restitution and to forfeit $669,688, including property in Baltimore and $17,800 from her Committee to Re-elect Catherine Pugh,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-baltimore-mayor-apologizes-over-children-s-book-scam-sentencing-n1144286">NBC News</a> reported Thursday.
After being elected in 2016, Pugh quickly came under scrutiny for multiple lucrative deals involving her children’s book, &#8220;Healthy Holly.&#8221; Pugh&#8217;s nonprofit ended up receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from multiple city and state contractors from the book deals. The scheme, prosecutors say, benefited Pugh both financially and politically.
After the sentencing Thursday, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur slammed Pugh&#8217;s lawyers for attempting to portray her crimes as victimless. &#8220;The victims in a case like this &#8230; are all of us, the people and the city of Baltimore, the taxpayers who expect, and they should expect, and they should demand, integrity,&#8221; said Hur, as reported by NBC News.
After every member of the Baltimore City Counsel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-baltimore-city-councils-tough-message-james-barrett">demanded</a> her resignation, Pugh resigned in May. In November, Pugh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-democratic-mayor-of-baltimore-pleads-guilty-in-childrens-book-fraud-case">pleaded guilty</a> to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion. In a <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-ci-cr-pugh-sentence-sought-20200213-i5ljpuivxzf4ngnkbya2qsxnti-story.html">sentencing memorandum</a> filed two weeks ago, federal prosecutors laid out the long list of crimes they say Pugh committed over multiple years, including fraud, tax evasion, cover-ups and “brazen lies to the public.”
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“The blistering, 37-page sentencing memorandum, accompanied by financial records and copies of checks, for the first time pinpointed the number of ‘Healthy Holly’ children’s books Pugh sold — and re-sold,” <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-ci-cr-pugh-sentence-sought-20200213-i5ljpuivxzf4ngnkbya2qsxnti-story.html">The Baltimore Sun</a> reported at the time. “It outlined her efforts to conceal her dealings, including lying to FBI agents who came to her house to seize her cellphone.”
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The sentencing memorandum, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Leo J. Wise, presented a damning account of Pugh&#8217;s actions. “The chronology of events since 2011, comprising Pugh’s seven-year scheme to defraud, multiple years of tax evasion, election fraud, and attempted cover-ups, including brazen lies to the public, clearly establishes the deliberateness with which she pursued financial and political gain without a second thought about how it was harming the public’s trust,” read the memo.
The former mayor&#8217;s actions reveal “a recurring pattern of well-executed steps that built on each other, becoming more audacious and complex leading up to the mayoral election,” the prosecutors stated.
Prosecutors say that Pugh orchestrated a multi-stage scheme in which she resold over 132,000 copies of her children&#8217;s book for nearly $860,000. About 94% of the book sales, or around $805,000 worth, was brought in through deals with &#8220;corporate book purchasers with an interest in obtaining or maintaining a government contract,&#8221; as noted by The Baltimore Sun.
&#8220;Among the accusations is Pugh’s failure to disclose book deals worth hundreds of thousands to the Senate before becoming mayor, among them her $500,000 deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, for which she served on its volunteer board,&#8221; the Daily Wire reported.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-prosecutors-recommend-hard-time-for-ex-baltimore-mayor-reveal-new-details-on-childrens-book-scandal">Federal Prosecutors Recommend Hard Time For Ex-Baltimore Mayor, Reveal New Details On Children’s Book Scandal</a>
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UPDATE: Baltimore Mayor Sentenced To Multiple Years Behind Bars For Children’s Book Scam

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is facing up to five years in prison over her infamous &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; children&#8217;s book scandal, over which she resigned last May and pleaded guilty in November.
Pugh was elected mayor of Baltimore in 2016 but quickly came under increased scrutiny over multiple deals involving her children&#8217;s book, for which her nonprofit received hundreds of thousands of dollars from various city and state contractors and by which prosecutors say she benefited not only financially but also politically. In November, Pugh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-democratic-mayor-of-baltimore-pleads-guilty-in-childrens-book-fraud-case">pleaded guilty</a> to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion; while the terms of the agreement were not revealed, her sentencing was scheduled for late February.
In a <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-ci-cr-pugh-sentence-sought-20200213-i5ljpuivxzf4ngnkbya2qsxnti-story.html">sentencing memorandum</a> filed Thursday, federal prosecutors laid out their case against Pugh, who they accuse of being a &#8220;scammer&#8221; guilty of a multiple years of fraud, tax evasion, cover-ups and &#8220;brazen lies to the public&#8221; in order to personally profit — and all in the name of &#8220;children&#8217;s health.&#8221;
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&#8220;The blistering, 37-page sentencing memorandum, accompanied by financial records and copies of checks, for the first time pinpointed the number of &#8216;Healthy Holly&#8217; children’s books Pugh sold — and re-sold,&#8221; <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-ci-cr-pugh-sentence-sought-20200213-i5ljpuivxzf4ngnkbya2qsxnti-story.html">The Baltimore Sun</a> reports. &#8220;It outlined her efforts to conceal her dealings, including lying to FBI agents who came to her house to seize her cellphone.&#8221;
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The memorandum, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Leo J. Wise, presents the case for severe sentencing for Pugh as a result of her &#8220;deliberate&#8221; pursuit of financial and political gain. &#8220;The chronology of events since 2011, comprising Pugh’s seven-year scheme to defraud, multiple years of tax evasion, election fraud, and attempted cover-ups, including brazen lies to the public, clearly establishes the deliberateness with which she pursued financial and political gain without a second thought about how it was harming the public’s trust,” reads the memorandum, as highlighted by the Baltimore Sun.
Her actions reveal &#8220;a recurring pattern of well-executed steps that built on each other, becoming more audacious and complex leading up to the mayoral election,&#8221; Clarke and Wise charge.
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As highlighted by The Baltimore Sun, the prosecutors say that Pugh orchestrated a “three-dimensional” scheme in which she managed to &#8220;resell 132,116 copies for a total of $859,960.&#8221; Prosecutors say that about 94% of the book sales, around $805,000, came from &#8220;corporate book purchasers with an interest in obtaining or maintaining a government contract.&#8221; The memo also presents more details about the roles of a city comptroller and a key city contractor that could spark further inquiries.
Among the accusations is Pugh&#8217;s failure to disclose book deals worth hundreds of thousands to the Senate before becoming mayor, among them her $500,000 deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, for which she served on its volunteer board. (<a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-ci-cr-pugh-sentence-sought-20200213-i5ljpuivxzf4ngnkbya2qsxnti-story.html">Read the sentencing memo here</a>.)
Amid mounting pressure after it was revealed that most of her &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; books were never distributed to the children they were supposed to help — instead being stored in a Baltimore City Public School System warehouse and Pugh’s homes and offices — Pugh publicly apologized in March.
“I sincerely want to say that I apologize that I have done something to upset the people of Baltimore,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/baltimore-mayor-will-take-leave-absence-ashe-schow">said</a>. “I never intended to do anything that could not stand up to scrutiny.”
Months after going on paid administrative leave, and after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-baltimore-city-councils-tough-message-james-barrett">every member</a> of the Baltimore City Counsel called for her resignation, Pugh finally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-resignation-letter-finally-issued-scandal-james-barrett">resigned</a> in May.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-trump-critics-presented-racist-comments-james-barrett">WATCH: Trump Critics Presented With ‘Racist’ Comments About Baltimore, Then Learn Who Actually Said Them</a>
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Federal Prosecutors Recommend Hard Time For Ex-Baltimore Mayor, Reveal New Details On Children’s Book Scandal

In his latest man-on-the-street video, filmmaker Ami Horowitz played another round of &#8220;America&#8217;s favorite game: Who Said What?&#8221; — this time focused on &#8220;racist&#8221; comments about Baltimore, the city President Trump singled out repeatedly last week in his battle with Democratic Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings.
In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1SsANgO1m8">the video</a>, Horowitz asks people who aren&#8217;t fans of Trump to identify the person they believe was behind various quotes slamming Baltimore, offering them three options: President Trump, former Democratic Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (who resigned this year amid mounting pressure over a book deal scandal), and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
To get things warmed up, Horowitz starts with the most famous (and recent) of the quotes: Baltimore is a &#8220;disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess.&#8221;
The first &#8220;contestant&#8221; answers correctly that that &#8220;racist&#8221; quote was stated by none other than the original Baltimore-hater himself, Donald Trump.
But the second quote throws the next participant for a loop. &#8220;You can smell the rats from here,&#8221; Horowitz reads. The woman guesses Trump, only to learn that it was in fact the African American former mayor of Baltimore who offered that rather damning <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/07/29/baltimore-mayor-catherine-pugh-smell-the-rats/">comment</a> — and long before Trump took aim at the Democrat-controlled city.
Next quote: &#8220;What the hell? We should take all this sh** down.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s gotta be Trump,&#8221; says a dude whose made great progress growing a Gandalf beard. Unfortunately, again, it turns out that it was actually Mayor Pugh&#8217;s suggestion to tear down part of the city back in 2018 because it was so dilapidated.
Next quote: &#8220;You would think we&#8217;re in a third world country.&#8221; That quote sparks a debate between a hat and glass-wearing guy and girl, the guy insisting Bernie doesn&#8217;t use the term &#8220;third world&#8221; anymore, as it&#8217;s now politically incorrect. But, it turns out that, yes, it was Bernie, who offered the brutal critique <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-blasted-baltimore-as-third-world-country-and-disgrace-in-past-comments">back in 2015</a>.
The contestants don&#8217;t always get things wrong, but they generally err on the side of blaming Trump.
WATCH:
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The controvery over Baltimore began when Trump issued a series of tweets blasting Rep. Cummings, whose district includes the city, for neglecting what he described as a crime-plagued, &#8220;rat and rodent infested mess&#8221; and said &#8220;no human being would want to live there&#8221; — comments the Democrats and their allies in the media quickly declared &#8220;racist.&#8221;
&#8220;Rep. Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men &amp; women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous,&#8221; Trump tweeted last week &#8220;His district is considered the Worst in the USA. As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient &amp; well run, just very crowded. Cumming[s&#8217;] District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous &amp; filthy place.&#8221;
&#8220;Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States. No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen?&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50364/reporter-confronts-residents-about-trumps-amanda-prestigiacomo">Reporter Confronts Residents About Trump&#8217;s Baltimore Comments. They Demolish The Left&#8217;s Narrative, Heckle Al Sharpton.</a>

Donald Trump

WATCH: Trump Critics Presented With ‘Racist’ Comments About Baltimore, Then Learn Who Actually Said Them

Ami Horowitz

Bernie Sanders

Since March, a trash bag full of 20 to 30 copies of &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; children&#8217;s books has appeared every so often at the Maryland Book Bank.
&#8220;Every time they&#8217;ve come in, it&#8217;s never been just five or six,&#8221; Kim Crout, program manager for the book bank, <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-healthy-holly-book-bank-20190611-story,amp.html">told The Baltimore Sun</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s always been a trash bag of 20 or 30, and they&#8217;re always just left here when we get in.&#8221;
The book series was written by scandal-plagued former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh. Pugh resigned in May, claiming she was suffering from health issues. Her resignation coincided with investigations from the FBI, the Maryland state prosecutor&#8217;s office and the Baltimore city ethics board, according to the Sun. The main crux of the scandal involved Pugh&#8217;s deals with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of her books, which the Sun said suffered &#8220;from editing mistakes.&#8221;
It was the Sun that first began investigating the deal, which came under scrutiny because the UMMS had other business contracts pending with Baltimore.
The books keep appearing at the book bank, but no one knows why.
Pugh&#8217;s attorney, Steve Silverman, told the Sun that the former mayor wasn&#8217;t sending the trash bags full of books to the book bank.
&#8220;No one associated with Healthy Holly LLC or Catherine Pugh has any knowledge that this is occurring, and if true, who is doing this and the source of the supply of books,&#8221; he told the outlet on Tuesday.
Pugh had said the books were supposed to go to Baltimore City Public Schools, but officials told the Sun they never asked for the books and hadn&#8217;t received a recent installment.
The people who run the book bank are stumped.
The other interesting part of the equation is that children have no interest in the books, according to Crout.
&#8220;It&#8217;s like they have a nose for the fact that they&#8217;re crap,&#8221; she told the Sun.
But there are people who do want the books. Mark Feiring, the book bank&#8217;s executive director, told the Sun that journalists have been asking for the books, and one person wanted to buy a complete set of the series for $500, all of which he declined.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t sell kids&#8217; books at all. We just put them out there for people to take,&#8221; Feiring told the outlet. He added that adults come into the book bank and laugh at the book and take pictures of it when they&#8217;re put on the shelves.
Even before the Sun&#8217;s reporting on the scandal, large quantities of the books were appearing at the book bank. Feiring told the outlet that a few boxes of about 50 to 75 books had appeared earlier this year.
The book bank seems to be taking the situation in stride. Feiring said he even had one of the books sitting on his desk.
With so many books showing up &#8212; and realizing the ingenuity of the American people &#8212; one has to wonder what other uses people may find for the former mayor&#8217;s failed enterprise.

Trash Bags Of Scandal-Plagued Former Baltimore Mayor’s Book Keep Showing Up At A Book Bank – And No One Knows Why

In an outcome that became increasingly inevitable over the last few weeks, the now-former mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, officially tendered her resignation letter on Thursday, apologizing for the damage she has done to both the image of the city and the credibility of the office.
The <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-maryland-mayor-catherine-pugh-resigns/27056531">letter</a> comes a month after Pugh went on paid administrative leave amid the growing scandal concerning her lucrative deals with various city and state-connected entities for her self-published children&#8217;s book, &#8220;Healthy Holly.&#8221; Pugh claimed that she could not return to work because she was continuing to recover from pneumonia and apparently remained holed up in her home, with no one seeing her in public <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/46402/watch-fbi-irs-raid-home-baltimore-mayor-james-barrett">for weeks</a>.
Amid a chorus of calls for her resignation by city and state officials, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45807/heres-baltimore-city-councils-tough-message-james-barrett">every member</a> of the Baltimore City Council, Pugh finally delivered the letter Thursday, in what her lawyer <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-pugh-resigns-20190502-story.html">described</a> as &#8220;a sad day for Mayor Pugh and a sad day for the city of Baltimore.&#8221;
In the resignation letter, which is addressed to the &#8220;citizens of Baltimore,&#8221; Pugh apologizes for &#8220;the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the Office of the Mayor.&#8221;
<blockquote>
Dear citizens of Baltimore,
I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as the 50th mayor. It has been an honor and a privilege.
Today, I am submitting my written resignation to the Baltimore City Council. I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the Office of the Mayor.
Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward. I want to thank all of our department heads and staff who work hard every day to improve the quality of life for all who live, work and visit our city.
I also want to thank Jack Young, the president of the City Council, for his steadfast leadership in my absence.
I wish you well in your new role as mayor of Baltimore City.
Sincerely, 
Catherine E. Pugh
</blockquote>
Her letter was delivered by her attorney Steven Silverman, who held a very brief press conference in his downtown offices and took no questions.
<a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-pugh-resigns-20190502-story.html">The Baltimore Sun</a>, which has been closely chronicling the developments in the book scandal, notes that Pugh&#8217;s resignation is the second scandal-prompted resignation of a Baltimore mayor in less than a decade and that she&#8217;s the third mayor to &#8220;decline to seek another term after a riot over police misconduct and a soaring murder rate.&#8221;
&#8220;While in isolation at her home, Pugh issued a defiant pledge last month to return to work,&#8221; the Baltimore Sun reports. &#8220;But that resolve gave way after federal agents raided her home and City Hall office a week ago. &#8220;
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Pugh made the &#8220;right decision&#8221; to step down but underscored that the multiple investigations into her various book deals will continue.
After Pugh&#8217;s book deal worth hundreds of thousands with the University of Maryland Medical System &#8212; secured while she was a member of its board &#8212; came to light in March, a series of subsequent reports revealed other highly problematic deals, including with health insurer Kaiser Permanente, that had previously escaped scrutiny. Amid mounting pressure, Pugh took a leave of absence citing health concerns and Young took over as acting mayor. Young is now officially <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ci-jack-young-20190502-story.html">the 51st Mayor of Baltimore</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/46402/watch-fbi-irs-raid-home-baltimore-mayor-james-barrett">WATCH: FBI, IRS Raid Home Of Baltimore Mayor</a>

Here’s The Resignation Letter Finally Issued By Scandal-Plagued Baltimore Mayor

The &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; scandal has officially come knocking on Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh&#8217;s front door. Early Thursday morning, agents from the FBI and IRS executed search warrants on the embattled mayor&#8217;s home and offices, presumably in connection to the growing scandal over the highly lucrative book deals she secured while in office and serving on key city boards.
&#8220;The FBI Baltimore office and IRS Criminal Division out of DC are executing search warrants at Pugh&#8217;s home, a business address, an aide&#8217;s home and Baltimore City Hall, an FBI spokesman said,&#8221; NBC Baltimore affiliate <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/fbi-searches-mayor-pughs-home/27267886">WBAL-TV 11</a> reported Thursday.
Videos posted online show multiple FBI agents joined by at least one IRS agent converging on Pugh&#8217;s northwest Baltimore home, which WBAL-TV says she purchased in December 2016, as well as another house she reportedly owns nearby.
&#8220;The agents have been seen entering and exiting the home, as well as garages, which may belong to the home, or a neighboring home. Agents retrieved a couple of large boxes from the garages,&#8221; the outlet reports. &#8220;Around the corner, agents are serving a search warrant at the home where Pugh lived for many years, which is linked to the Healthy Holly scandal.&#8221;
Multiple videos of the raid have been posted online by reporters, including WBAL-TV&#8217;s Jennifer Franciotti and Fox45&#8217;s Joy Lepola Stewart:
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<a href="https://twitter.com/FBIBaltimore?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBIBaltimore</a> agent walks across street to home owned by <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorPugh50?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MayorPugh50</a> on Ellamont Rd. At least 3 agents on site along with IRS officials. <a href="https://twitter.com/wbaltv11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wbaltv11</a> <a href="https://t.co/eQwOaUrXEb">pic.twitter.com/eQwOaUrXEb</a>
&#8212; Jennifer Franciotti (@wbaljfro) <a href="https://twitter.com/wbaljfro/status/1121377399374004225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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IRS and FBI agents are at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Baltimore?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Baltimore</a> Mayor Pugh&#8217;s House <a href="https://t.co/UVYvIyOQNa">pic.twitter.com/UVYvIyOQNa</a>
&#8212; JoyLepolaStewart (@jlepolastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/jlepolastewart/status/1121372111250046977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Breaking?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Breaking</a> Agents have been in and out of the Mayor&#8217;s house here <a href="https://t.co/qUmZicz9Zq">pic.twitter.com/qUmZicz9Zq</a>
&#8212; JoyLepolaStewart (@jlepolastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/jlepolastewart/status/1121373179686133760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Search warrants being executed at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Baltimore?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Baltimore</a> Mayor Catherine Pugh as well as City Hall &#8211; a few agents have already left several remain inside no sign of Pugh <a href="https://t.co/KacHPzI7ud">pic.twitter.com/KacHPzI7ud</a>
&#8212; JoyLepolaStewart (@jlepolastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/jlepolastewart/status/1121380856738779137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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More agents arrive at the home of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Baltimore?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Baltimore</a> Mayor Catherine Pugh <a href="https://t.co/Zvybgh8mqu">pic.twitter.com/Zvybgh8mqu</a>
&#8212; JoyLepolaStewart (@jlepolastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/jlepolastewart/status/1121396820708601856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Federal agents are going in between two homes that belong to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Baltimore?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Baltimore</a> mayor <a href="https://t.co/XQcnXvvD9a">pic.twitter.com/XQcnXvvD9a</a>
&#8212; JoyLepolaStewart (@jlepolastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/jlepolastewart/status/1121399816108609537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Sources tell Fox45 Mayor Pugh is inside her house here in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Baltimore?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Baltimore</a> <a href="https://t.co/lDtk628OgR">pic.twitter.com/lDtk628OgR</a>
&#8212; JoyLepolaStewart (@jlepolastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/jlepolastewart/status/1121403026189819904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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According to neighbors, Pugh has not been seen at her home in over a month, though Fox45 reported that she was &#8220;inside her house&#8221; at one point during the raid. Pugh has been on administrative leave over what she says are &#8220;health issues.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/25/politics/catherine-pugh-fbi-baltimore-mayor/index.html">CNN</a> reports that along with her northwest Baltimore home, the FBI has is also searching the home of her former aide Gary Brown and the office of a non-profit Pugh founded, the Maryland Center for Adult Training. This week, the acting mayor, Jack Young, <a href="https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/04/24/acting-mayor-fires-three-pugh-aides/">fired </a>three aides that were on the board of the non-profit, including Brown.
Agents have also converged on City Hall, WBAL-TV reporting the number of agents on the scene to be around 20.
Pugh and her private company have allegedly brought in around $700,000 for mass purchases of the mayor&#8217;s self-published &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; book, a large percentage of that money ($500,000) coming from a deal with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). Pugh was a member of the board when they agreed to purchase a significant number of her books. Other highly questionable deals have since come to light along with claims that Pugh failed to disclose key information to the IRS.
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The entire Baltimore City Council has since called for Pugh&#8217;s resignation. &#8220;The myriad of investigations underway into the various business dealings involving the Mayor raise significant ethical and legal issues,&#8221; said Councilman Eric Costello, in a statement issued along with <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/45807/heres-baltimore-city-councils-tough-message-james-barrett">several others</a> from his fellow councilman. &#8220;It will be impossible for Mayor Pugh to govern effectively. Therefore, I have joined all my colleagues today in asking for the Mayor&#8217;s immediate resignation. This unprecedented step has not been taken lightly. While I fully support the notion of &#8216;innocent until proven guilty,&#8217; I remain deeply concerned about the immeasurable toll this scandal has taken on the City of Baltimore and its citizens. Resignation will not solve every problem but Baltimore needs to heal, once again, and it cannot do so until the Mayor steps aside.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45807/heres-baltimore-city-councils-tough-message-james-barrett">Here&#8217;s The Baltimore City Council&#8217;s Brutal Message To Scandal-Plagued Mayor, And Her Response</a>

WATCH: FBI, IRS Raid Home Of Baltimore Mayor

In an unequivocal, two-sentence statement issued Monday, every active member of the Baltimore City Council called on embattled Democratic Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign &#8220;immediately&#8221; amid the increasingly untenable fallout from her &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; children&#8217;s book scandal.
Over the last few weeks, Pugh&#8217;s extremely lucrative deal with various entities connected to the city has prompted a growing backlash against the mayor. In total, Pugh and her private company have racked up some $700,000 for mass purchases of her self-published &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; book, including $500,000 from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), a deal struck while she was a member of its board. As more details of her book deals emerge, so do the legal and ethical questions, which have already triggered multiple investigations. Amid the mounting scandal, politicians are beginning to ramp up the pressure on Pugh, including all 14 of the city council&#8217;s voting members.
&#8220;The entire membership of the Baltimore City Council believes that it is not in the best interest of the City of Baltimore, for you to continue to serve as Mayor. We urge you to tender your resignation, effective immediately,&#8221; the city council said in a letter issued Monday.
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Please see letter from my colleagues and I to <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorPugh50?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MayorPugh50</a>. We strongly believe that for the sake of Baltimore <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorPugh50?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MayorPugh50</a> should resign from office. <a href="https://t.co/1oaZZkmh38">pic.twitter.com/1oaZZkmh38</a>
&#8212; Brandon M. Scott (@CouncilmanBMS) <a href="https://twitter.com/CouncilmanBMS/status/1115209112340635648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Along with the terse letter, several of the council members issued individual statements Monday, as reported by NBC News affiliate <a href="http://www.wbaltv.com/article/entire-baltimore-city-council-calls-for-mayor-catherine-pughs-resignation/27072096">WBAL TV</a>.
&#8220;Baltimore will continue to have a cloud over its head while the investigations into Mayor Pugh&#8217;s business dealings go on,&#8221; said Councilman Brandon Scott. &#8220;These issues are extremely severe and prohibit the Mayor from focusing on the business of Baltimore. Today I join my colleagues in asking for the Mayor&#8217;s resignation. Baltimore deserves a Mayor who can focus on reducing crime, improving our schools and restoring trust in our government. My colleagues and I understand the severity of the action we have taken, but know that it is what&#8217;s best for Baltimore. A lot of work remains to rebuild trust in our government but that will not start until the Mayor resigns.&#8221;
&#8220;The myriad of investigations underway into the various business dealings involving the Mayor raise significant ethical and legal issues,&#8221; said Councilman Eric Costello. &#8220;It will be impossible for Mayor Pugh to govern effectively. Therefore, I have joined all my colleagues today in asking for the Mayor&#8217;s immediate resignation. This unprecedented step has not been taken lightly. While I fully support the notion of &#8216;innocent until proven guilty,&#8217; I remain deeply concerned about the immeasurable toll this scandal has taken on the City of Baltimore and its citizens. Resignation will not solve every problem but Baltimore needs to heal, once again, and it cannot do so until the Mayor steps aside.&#8221;
&#8220;It is disappointing and a little frustrating, but I understand you know in this country you are presumed innocent until found guilty and it&#8217;s possible that is her position that until the investigations are completed she may want to stay in that position,&#8221; said Councilman Kristefer Burnett. &#8220;It has become a complete distraction from the work of moving Baltimore forward. I haven&#8217;t even been able to walk my dog without being asked why the mayor hasn&#8217;t resigned.&#8221;
Though 14 of the 15 council members are demanding her resignation (one of them is currently the acting mayor while Pugh is on leave for &#8220;health&#8221; reasons), Pugh&#8217;s office has made clear in response that she&#8217;s not planning on going anywhere.
&#8220;Mayor Pugh has taken a leave to focus on recovering from pneumonia and regaining her health,&#8221; her office said in a statement Monday. &#8220;She fully intends to resume the duties of her office and continuing her work on behalf of the people and the City of Baltimore.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45478/uh-oh-baltimore-mayor-childrens-book-scandal-adds-james-barrett">Baltimore Mayor Children&#8217;s Book Scandal Adds Another Highly Suspicious Chapter</a>

Here’s The Baltimore City Council’s Brutal Message To Scandal-Plagued Mayor, And Her Response

The &#8220;Healthy Holly&#8221; children&#8217;s book scandal involving Democratic Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh added another chapter this week that is raising even more ethics questions.
Pugh <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/45404/baltimore-mayor-will-take-leave-absence-ashe-schow">revealed</a> Monday evening that she has decided to take an indefinite leave of absence, citing her &#8220;deteriorating&#8221; health. (Despite the leave, Pugh reportedly plans to continue to collect her $185,000 salary.) The decision comes amid mounting pressure stemming from a $500,000 no-bid deal with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), for which Pugh was a board member, for the purchase of thousands of copies of a children&#8217;s book Pugh wrote and independently published. Pugh also failed to report the hundreds of thousands in income on her annual General Assembly financial disclosure forms.
&#8220;In addition to her sweetheart deal with the UMMS, Pugh was also paid <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-kaiser-deal-20190401-story.html">more than $100,000</a> by the health insurer Kaiser Permanente for copies of her books between 2015 and 2018,&#8221; The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45404/baltimore-mayor-will-take-leave-absence-ashe-schow">Ashe Schow</a> reported Monday. &#8220;Conveniently, in 2017, Kaiser was awarded a $48 million contract with Baltimore to provide city employees health insurance. At the time of the deal, Pugh controlled the city&#8217;s spending board, according to the Sun.&#8221;
In a new wrinkle reported by <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-maif-contributes-to-healthy-holly-20190402-story.html">The Baltimore Sun</a> Tuesday, another insurer, which benefited from Pugh&#8217;s sponsorship of legislation, also directed money to Pugh&#8217;s Healthy Holly book company.
&#8220;The quasi-public company created by the <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics-government/maryland-general-assembly-ORGOV0000193-topic.html">Maryland General Assembly</a> for hard-to-insure drivers gave a $7,500 donation in 2012 to then state-Sen. <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics-government/government/catherine-pugh-PEPLT00007656-topic.html">Catherine Pugh</a>&#8217;s Healthy Holly book company, shortly before she successfully sponsored legislation supported by the company,&#8221; the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday. &#8220;The money was for Healthy Holly&#8217;s &#8216;<a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-kaiser-deal-20190401-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outreach program with the Associated Black Charities</a>,&#8217; Mark McCurdy, executive director of the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, said Tuesday.&#8221;
The insurer donated another $5,000 to the charity for the purchase of the mayor&#8217;s book the next year. The executive director of MAIF at the time of the donations went on to become a paid staffer on Pugh&#8217;s campaign, president of her inauguration committee, and then a city official with a salary of $107,000.
McCurdy, who took over the insurance company in 2015 condemned the donations as &#8220;inconsistent with my philosophy&#8221; and said no such donations have been made under his leadership.
The Baltimore Sun highlights Pugh&#8217;s role in promoting legislation that benefited MAIF. &#8220;I am excited for this great opportunity for all of those in Maryland who find themselves in need of MAIF and can now get a policy at a reasonable rate,&#8221; she said in a 2013 press release from the group. &#8220;It makes our seven years of fighting worthwhile for the citizens of Maryland.&#8221;
Amid the growing scandal, some city officials are now calling for Pugh to step down.
Soon after the scandal erupted, Pugh resigned from the UMMS board. In a press conference last week, the mayor <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/baltimore-mayor-apologizes-for-deal-to-sell-self-published-books-to-md-hospital/2019/03/28/5e60d9a4-4f47-11e9-8d28-f5149e5a2fda_story.html">apologized</a> for &#8220;upset[ting]&#8221; Baltimore residents. &#8220;I sincerely want to say that I apologize that I have done something to upset the people of Baltimore. I never intended to do anything that could not stand up to scrutiny,&#8221; she said.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45404/baltimore-mayor-will-take-leave-absence-ashe-schow">Baltimore Mayor Will Take Leave Of Absence For &#8216;Deteriorating Health&#8217; Amid Book Scandal</a>

UH-OH: Baltimore Mayor Children’s Book Scandal Adds Another Highly Suspicious Chapter

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, a Democrat, will take an indefinite leave of absence &#8212; but still collect her $185,000 a year salary &#8212; due to her &#8220;deteriorating&#8221; health.
The Baltimore Sun reported Monday evening that the mayor would be taking leave after coming under fire over the past month for a scandal in which the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) struck a deal with Pugh worth $500,000 for copies of the mayor&#8217;s children&#8217;s book, <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-ci-healthy-holly-20190318-story.html">which now sit in a warehouse</a>, undistributed.
Pugh was a member of the UMMS board, and had a business deal wherein approximately 100,000 copies of her children&#8217;s book, &#8220;Healthy Holly,&#8221; would be purchased and distributed to schools and daycare centers. About 8,700 of those books <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-ci-healthy-holly-20190318-story.html">now sit in a warehouse</a> owned by the Baltimore school system. A spokeswoman told the Sun that she could not find documentation for the books but that an &#8220;unsolicited&#8221; shipment was delivered sometime between 2011 and 2013.
Two weeks ago, Pugh resigned from the UMMS board and last week <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/baltimore-mayor-apologizes-for-deal-to-sell-self-published-books-to-md-hospital/2019/03/28/5e60d9a4-4f47-11e9-8d28-f5149e5a2fda_story.html">apologized for the deal</a> she made in connection with the books.
&#8220;I sincerely want to say that I apologize that I have done something to upset the people of Baltimore,&#8221; Pugh said at a press conference on March 28. &#8220;I never intended to do anything that could not stand up to scrutiny.&#8221;
The scandal comes from Pugh&#8217;s no-bid deal, which she didn&#8217;t report as income on her annual General Assembly financial disclosure forms, according to The Washington Post. She later amended the forms after the Sun&#8217;s reporting.
Now her office claims that she was hospitalized for five days last week (apparently before the press conference) for pneumonia and will be taking a leave of absence to recover.
&#8220;With the mayor&#8217;s health deteriorating, she feels as though she is unable to fulfill her obligations as mayor of Baltimore city,&#8221; said a statement published by the Sun. &#8220;To that end, Mayor Pugh will be taking an indefinite leave of absence to recuperate from this serious illness.&#8221;
The statement, according to the Sun, did not mention the book scandal and comes at a time when Maryland&#8217;s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has called for a criminal investigation into Pugh&#8217;s book deal. Hogan has asked the office of the state prosecutor to open a criminal investigation into Pugh&#8217;s actions.
City Council President Bernard C. &#8220;Jack&#8221; Young will serve as the interim mayor while Pugh recovers.
In addition to her sweetheart deal with the UMMS, Pugh was also paid <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-kaiser-deal-20190401-story.html">more than $100,000</a> by the health insurer Kaiser Permanente for copies of her books between 2015 and 2018. Conveniently, in 2017, Kaiser was awarded a $48 million contract with Baltimore to provide city employees health insurance. At the time of the deal, Pugh controlled the city&#8217;s spending board, according to the Sun.
When Pugh resigned from the UMMS board, she also repaid $100,000 from the book deal.
As the Post reported, Pugh is &#8220;the second Baltimore mayor in the past decade to be navigating a corruption scandal; Democrat Sheila Dixon resigned from office in 2010 after being convicted of embezzlement.&#8221;

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