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Most people facing serious criminal charges are reluctant to speak publicly before their case goes to court. Other defendants, those who feel the urge to fight back through the media, are usually convinced by their lawyers to keep quiet.
Not Roy McGrath.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.鈥檚 former chief of staff, who was indicted in October on charges of misappropriating government funds and misconduct in office, has given interviews to the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun 鈥� and has written two op-ed columns in his own defense.
McGrath served as chief of staff for only three months. He stepped down in August 2020, just days after the Baltimore Sun reported that he convinced his previous employer, the Maryland Environmental Service, to award him a year鈥檚 salary 鈥� $233,647.23 鈥� as severance pay.
Although he left MES of his own accord to join the administration, at an identical salary, McGrath maintained that the payout was both customary agency practice and a reward for stellar performance.
Members of the environmental service鈥檚 board of directors later told a legislative panel that they were uncomfortable giving a McGrath a severance but did so after he insisted that Hogan 鈥渁nticipated鈥� the payout, a charge Hogan has long denied. In addition to the severance, McGrath received $55,000 in travel and expense reimbursements after hastily submitting a mountain of receipts in the waning days of his tenure.
In public statements prior to his indictments 鈥� and since 鈥� McGrath has appeared eager to convince the public that he has done nothing wrong. In a commentary that ran in the Sun on Tuesday, he veered into new territory, asserting that Hogan has 鈥渁 problem correctly remembering facts.鈥�
鈥淲hile I remain incredibly proud of our historic success during my time at MES, after more than a year of being maliciously maligned and silently listening to countless facts be dishonestly misrepresented by Mr. Hogan and others with obvious political and personal agendas, I am compelled to begin setting the record straight,鈥� he wrote.
The comments were notable because the two men have known each other 30 years, dating back to Hogan鈥檚 bid for Congress in the early 1990s. 鈥淲e parted, I thought as friends, and with a hug,鈥� McGrath wrote of his departure last summer.
To bolster his argument that Hogan has 鈥渕isrepresented important facts,鈥� McGrath noted that when he left the government, Hogan praised him for his leadership.
鈥淚t is with regret that I have accepted Roy McGrath鈥檚 resignation as chief of staff,鈥� the governor said at the time. 鈥淩oy has been a deeply valued member of our administration, and our state is better for his dedicated service.鈥�
More recently, however, Hogan said McGrath was 鈥渢erminated within a matter of days鈥� of the Sun story. To McGrath, the governor was 鈥渃alculatedly shifting his explanation until finally washing his hands of me, like a modern-day Roman governor.鈥�
He also accused the governor of 鈥渄isingenuous spin鈥� with regard to a text message that Hogan sent to him. 鈥淚 know you did nothing wrong,鈥� the governor wrote. 鈥淚 know it is unfair. I will stand with you.鈥� A Hogan aide claimed the governor was unaware of all the facts when he sent that message, even though details surrounding the severance were by then public knowledge.
Legal analysts said McGrath鈥檚 public statements 鈥� and his apparent desire to litigate the past in the court of public opinion 鈥� risk undermining his attorney鈥檚 efforts to defend him in court.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nightmare for a lawyer, because he creates such fertile ground for cross-examination,鈥� said Paul F. Kemp, a veteran Montgomery County defense attorney. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just a train wreck. That鈥檚 just not good for a defendant.鈥�
A. Scott Bolden, a longtime defense attorney in the District of Columbia, said it鈥檚 鈥渞are and unique鈥� for a defendant to speak publicly while under investigation.
鈥淓verything you say can and will be used against you by the feds or by the prosecutors,鈥� Bolden said. 鈥淪o most defendants follow their legal advice and they don鈥檛 speak to the public.鈥�
When defendants do speak publicly, Bolden said, their statements better be factually accurate, because 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to hear your words again. And if you鈥檝e lied to the public, the government can use that against you as a prior inconsistent statement.鈥�
In an interview on Thursday, McGrath defended his decision to make public comments prior to his upcoming trials.
鈥淔or a number of reasons, I was previously unable to share my side of this matter, nor do I plan to share more outside of the legal process,鈥� he said. 鈥淗owever, certain, substantial misrepresentations have stood unchallenged for a year too long already, and it demanded the record be set straight.鈥�
He declined to comment further.
When the General Assembly hired a special counsel to probe McGrath鈥檚 severance last year, he hired longtime Prince George鈥檚 County defense attorney Bruce L. Marcus to represent him. The two have since parted ways. Marcus declined a request for an interview, but associates described him as an old-school attorney who prefers to argue his cases in the courtroom.
Joseph Murtha, a highly-regarded Baltimore County attorney who has handled high-profiles cases throughout his career, is McGrath鈥檚 new attorney.
Kemp said that some of McGrath鈥檚 claims appear contradictory, such as his assertion that Hogan was aware of his severance but wanted to be spared the details. 鈥淓ither he (Hogan) anticipated it and supported it, or he wanted to be kept out of it; the two things can鈥檛 possibly co-exist.鈥�
Kemp said it鈥檚 usually better for a defendant鈥檚 lawyer to file court motions on a client鈥檚 behalf than to have the accused speak publicly. 鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously strategically better to keep your defense to yourself as to what it鈥檚 going to be and how it鈥檚 going to play out. Leave yourself all the options in the world.
