O’Malley calls Gov. Hogan’s real estate dealings a ‘racket’

Listen to this article

Former Gov. Martin O’Malley has attacked the man who replaced him in Government House over his commercial real estate interests.

In a series of tweets Wednesday morning O’Malley, a Democrat, accused Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, of corruption and running a “Real Estate racket.” In one message O’Malley compared Hogan, who was elected in 2014, to the late Spiro Agnew.

Agnew served as Baltimore County executive, Maryland governor, and vice president in President Richard Nixon’s administration. He later resigned as vice president after taking a plea deal involving one count of failing to report income on his federal taxes.

A spokesman for the Hogan campaign declined to comment on O’Malley’s tweets.

Ben Jealous is right. Larry Hogan’s Real Estate racket is, by its nature, corrupt. First governor in Maryland history to make himself a double millionaire while in office.

— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) October 24, 2018

Hogan’s Real Estate racket — No disclosure of client interests, not a single recusal on capital budget, decisions, and not a single abstention on any matter before Board of Public Works.

— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) October 24, 2018

Hogan and company, Hogan and friends, Hogan’s developer clients get whatever permits they want, whenever, and wherever they want. Most corrupt governor since Agnew.

— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) October 24, 2018

If any Maryland Governor prior to Trump, had made himself a double millionaire while in office with a land and permit assembly business, the newspapers and special prosecutor would be all over him.

— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) October 24, 2018

Hogan founded commercial real estate services firm The Hogan Cos. in 1985, according to the firm’s website. The companies claim they’ve completed $2 billion in real estate deals and been involved in the development of 35,000 acres of land in the mid-Atlantic.

In July, Hogan released three years of tax returns covering the years 2015-2017 that showed he earned $2.4 million during that time. The returns included Hogan’s salary as governor.

Hogan’s real estate investments, via The Hogan Cos., were placed in a trust, but not a blind trust.

“The trust isn’t blind because a traditional blind trust is not structured for and cannot be used for an operating business,” Amelia Chassé, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office, told The Daily Record in July. “For example, a blind trust anticipates an institutional trustee to manage investments, and is not permitted to hold a single security. The situation of an incoming governor of Maryland owning a private business was unique, which resulted in the governor’s counsel and the Ethics Commission working closely together to develop the structure of the trust.”

Hogan is seeking a second term in office and would be the first Republican governor of Maryland to win a second term since Theodore McKeldin in the 1950s.

Ben Jealous, the Democratic nominee, has also previously criticized Hogan’s real estate dealings. Polling on the governor’s race has consistently found Jealous running far behind Hogan in a state where Democrats have an edge in registered voters by roughly 2 to 1.