Sheila Dixon's defense
Mayor Sheila Dixon's lawyer, Arnold Weiner, made an interesting claim in his defense of his client on Friday: Even if its true that she took thousands of dollars in gifts from developer Ron Lipscomb and failed to disclose them, it's not actually illegal because Lipscomb does not fit the definition of someone who does business with the city. (Someone who sells City Hall rubber bands, yes. Someone who seeks tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks, no.)
He hoisted up some legal-exhibit-style blowups of portions of the city ethics code, underlining them in highlighter to make his point to the cameras. He pointed to the definition section of the code, which reads in part:
§ 2-5. “Business with City”.,
(a) In general. “Business with the City” means any 1 or combination of sales, purchases, leases, or contracts to, from, or with the City or any agency that:
(1) is made or entered into during the reporting period for which a disclosure statement is required by Subtitle 7 {“Financial Disclosure”} of this article; and
(2) involves consideration of $5,000 or more on a cumulative basis.
(b) Determining consideration.For purposes of this section, the total consideration committed to be paid as of the award or execution of a contract or lease, to the extent then ascertainable, is included, regardless of the period over which payments are to be made.
Got that? So according to this section, to be considered an entity that does business with the city, you need to engage in "sales, purchases, leases, or contracts," which, Weiner argues, doesn't apply to Lipscomb, the developer who helped bring you Harbor East and other high-profile projects.
baltimoresun.com
