Maryland Feels the Fallout: DHS Shutdown Exposes Washington’s Political Dysfunction
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews As the partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enters its fourth...
Author: Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips is a journalist, editor, creator, IT consultant, and father. He writes about politics, family-court reform, and civil rights.
The Annapolis Money Machine: How Maryland Campaign Cash Circulates Among Political Insiders
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland politicians like to talk about transparency, accountability, and reform. But if...
Following the Money: A Closer Look at Attorney General Anthony Brown’s Political Network
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland’s Attorney General is supposed to be the state’s top legal watchdog — a...
The Ferguson Network: Money, Power, and the Architecture of Maryland’s Political Machine
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews In Maryland politics, power rarely reveals itself through a single headline or a dramatic...
Months Missing: How Maryland’s Broken Child Welfare System Lost Track of Tristan King
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews For nearly six months, a nine-year-old boy was effectively missing in plain sight in...
Follow the Money: A Look at Rep. Johnny Olszewski’s Donor Network
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Fresh campaign finance filings offer a revealing look at the financial ecosystem...
Navy Commander Sentenced to Federal Prison for Cyberstalking in Maryland Case
By MDBayNews Staff A U.S. Navy lieutenant commander from Montgomery County has been sentenced to federal prison after a...
Moore Says Maryland Doesn’t Need an Inspector General. Critics Say That’s Exactly Why It Does.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Governor Wes Moore has sparked a fresh wave of criticism after suggesting the...
Montgomery County Schools Caught Moving the Goalposts Again
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Montgomery County Public Schools appears to have found its latest justification for closing...
April McClain Delaney: The Establishment’s Technocratic Moderate—or Just Another Cog in the Democratic Machine?
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland’s 6th Congressional District has long been one of the most politically...
Maryland House Moves to Open Primaries to Unaffiliated Voters
By MDBayNews Staff The Maryland House of Delegates has approved legislation that would allow unaffiliated voters to...
Maryland Farm Bureau Pushes Back After Moore Declares “MeatOut Day”
By MDBayNews Staff Governor Wes Moore is facing growing backlash from Maryland’s agricultural community after proclaiming...
Van Hollen’s Off-Year Money Machine: A Look at His Top Donors Since 2025
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Chris Van Hollen is not on the ballot in 2026. His Senate seat is a Class III seat, meaning...
Three Baltimore Police Officers Indicted in Wage Theft and Fraud Cases
By MDBayNews Staff Baltimore’s long struggle to rebuild trust in its police department took another hit this week after...
Trone Money Flows Into Frederick County: Fitzwater’s Campaign Backed by Trone Family Donations
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Campaign finance records continue to reveal a familiar pattern in Maryland politics: when...
Disabled Father’s Explosive ADA Lawsuit Slams Maryland Court for Systemic Discrimination—Will AG Brown Defend the Indefensible?
By Michael Phillips | Thunder Report | MDBayNews In a blistering federal lawsuit that exposes the ugly underbelly of...
Sewage Still Flowing: Potomac River Contamination Raises Questions About Accountability
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews For months, Maryland officials have insisted the Potomac River sewage crisis was under...
Anthony Brown’s Latest Anti-Trump Lawsuit Is Another Political Stunt Maryland Taxpayers Will Pay For
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has once again rushed to join a multi-state lawsuit...
Follow the Trone Money
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews David Trone is running again. After spending more than $62 million trying to buy...
Brown’s Latest Anti-ICE Lawsuit Is Political Theater — And It’s Likely to Fail
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has filed yet another lawsuit against federal...
Anthony Brown’s Latest Anti-Trump Lawsuit: Maryland Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Another Political Stunt
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Tuesday that his office has filed an...
The Primary That Changed Maryland
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews When historians look back at the razor-thin 1994 Maryland gubernatorial election, most...
Why Maryland’s Legislature Is So Dominated by Democrats
By MDBayNews Staff Maryland is often described as a deep-blue state, and in the General Assembly the numbers make that...
“Leave Nobody Behind?” Moore Budget Plan Targets Disability Lifeline and Risks Losing $300 Million
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews When Maryland Governor Wes Moore ran for office, one phrase defined his campaign message:...
Moore Touts $3 Million for Purple Line “Revitalization” — After Years of Delays and Billions in Costs
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Governor Wes Moore is celebrating a $3 million proposal for “business...
Maryland Lawmakers Push Tougher Penalties for Fentanyl Distribution Causing Death
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers are advancing legislation that would significantly...
Surprise Visit to Baltimore ICE Facility Produces Empty Rooms — But Not Empty Rhetoric
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A highly publicized “surprise” visit by Maryland’s Democratic congressional...
MDBayNews Files Public Records Requests Seeking Government Communications About Reichert Federal Lawsuits
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews MDBayNews has filed a series of public records requests with multiple Maryland government...
Governor or Presidential Candidate? Wes Moore’s National Ambitions Leave Maryland in the Rearview Mirror
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews When Wes Moore swept into office in 2023 with glowing national media coverage and a...
Moore’s Transit Housing Plan Sparks Backlash Over Local Control, Traffic, and Cost
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s push for the Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act...
The Billionaire Who Thinks Maryland Owes Him Another Shot
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews David Trone is trying again. After blowing more than $62 million of his own fortune on a...
From Ballymena to Baltimore: How Irish Immigrant James McHenry Helped Shape America—and Maryland
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews As Maryland celebrates Irish-American Heritage Month, it is worth remembering that one of...
Maryland Gubernatorial Candidate John Myrick Releases Military Records Amid “Stolen Valor” Dispute
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Republican gubernatorial candidate John Myrick has publicly released portions of his...
Maryland Democrats Bash Trump’s Jobs Report While Ignoring the Economic Mess in Their Own Backyard
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Democrats never miss a chance to seize on a weak national headline and turn it...
Maryland Attorney’s Deposition Raises New Questions in Federal Malicious Prosecution Case
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A recent deposition in a federal lawsuit involving a long-running Maryland custody dispute...
Howard County’s ICE Facility Fiasco: How Political Theater Created a $21 Million Lawsuit
By MDBayNews Staff Howard County’s decision to block a planned ICE processing facility in Elkridge may go down as one of...
The Baltimore Machine — Part II: Big Tommy and the Mechanics of Power
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Before Washington had a Speaker named Nancy Pelosi, Baltimore had a mayor known as “Big...
Maryland Moves to Block ICE Facility in Washington County — Using Environmental Law as the New Weapon
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A new front has opened in the long-running political battle over immigration enforcement in...
Maryland’s Lawsuit Machine: Anthony Brown’s Obsession With Suing Trump
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews For Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the job increasingly looks less like chief...
Can Anyone Beat Wes Moore?
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Governor Wes Moore enters the next election cycle with what political strategists would...