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Before The Baltimore Sun published the word of its reported investigation into the record of Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, the leader of the Democratic state and his team had already criticized the new ownership of the paper as “right-wing” and comfortable with President Donald Trump.
The Baltimore Sun, which was bought by Sinclair executive chairman David D. Smith in 2024, is reportedly investigating Moore’s military record, time studying sports and other parts of his background, Semafor reported earlier this week, citing The Sun brought in investigative reporters from outlets under the Sinclair umbrella.
“It’s actually a very sad day because the Baltimore Sun used to be our paper of record. Now it’s become a right-wing paper,” Moore told former Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a recent interview, after Psaki noted that the Sun was bought in 2024 by Smith.
Moore, who has dropped talks about running for president in 2028, has faced scrutiny for listing the Bronze Star in a Bush-era White House reunion request before receiving the award, as well as questions about the depth of his Baltimore roots during his 2022 race against then-Gov. Larry Hogan. Moore finally received the Bronze Star in 2024.
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Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO David Smith is seen in 1998. (Gordon Chibroski/Getty Images)
“[Y]He once had a MAGA billionaire who is seeking his favor [President Donald Trump] and using what used to be an important paper in our district and now it’s turning into something that’s nothing more than a right-wing drive,” Moore said.
The governor added that the members of the Army he worked with do not question his integrity in the same way and that Smith is a “coal pit” of wealthy people who are trying to use their resources to please Trump, including using the media.
The interview prompted a lengthy rebuttal from the managing editor of the Smith-affiliated outlet Moore: Spotlight on Maryland. The store is a partnership between Sinclair-owned FOX in Baltimore, the ABC affiliate in Washington and the Sun.
“Democrats are sure to put in a lot of work to denigrate the series before it goes live. That alone should raise the question: why?,” Highlighting Maryland managing editor Candy Woodall wrote on Twitter, describing Moore’s interview.
Woodall said Moore’s office threatened to distribute the files “to every news reporter” in an attempt to discredit his investigation.
“We saw the same playbook in 2022 when a FOX-45 reporter asked why Moore allowed claims that he received a Bronze Star he didn’t have at the time. His team accused the reporter and the media of bias and a smear campaign,” he wrote.
“Two years later, after the New York Times wrote about the Bronze Star Moore had not received, the narrative changed, and the governor said it was ‘an honest mistake’. In an August 2024 statement about his military record, Moore admitted that he knew before leaving Afghanistan that he had not received the award.”
In that statement, Moore said his deputy commander encouraged him to apply for a White House fellowship and at the same time commended him for the Bronze Star and told him to include it in his application.
Wes Moore, governor of Maryland, during an announcement in the South Courtroom of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)
He added that in his officer evaluation, his superiors placed him in the top 1% of Operation Enduring Freedom officers and called him “the best lieutenant I’ve ever met…” before revealing that he “sincerely wishes[ed he] I’m back to fix my application note.”
Woodall also pushed back in his tweet, saying that his reporters’ loyalty is not to officials but to Marylanders and that his team sent “hundreds” of questions to Moore and his staff for partial answers.
He said the Moore executive agreed that the Spotlight should not be treated as a news source and that “nothing that comes out of Sinclair should be taken seriously.”
“If you want to know more, keep reading the Baltimore Sun, a 200-year-old newspaper that has survived many governors,” he laughed.
When asked to respond, Moore’s press secretary Ammar Moussa told Fox News Digital that “in light of the revelations that Sinclair owner and Trump donor David Smith was personally involved in the Spotlight on Maryland reporting, what is the level of Sinclair owner and Donald Trump ally David Smith in the newsrooms of FOX-45 and the Baltimore Sun?”
He also said that Spotlight reporter Gary Collins is “not a journalist,” directing Fox News Digital’s X response to Collins, criticizing him as a former Maryland Republican Party official “acting at the direction of your Trump-supporting boss.”
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“I will continue to report the facts, as do my colleagues,” said Collins.
Collins also published a March 26 report about a roundtable Moore participated in near a warehouse in Washington County that is said to be an ICE facility.
Collins’ piece noted Moore’s complaint about the feds’ “lack of transparency” and compared it to what he said was a similar effort in Annapolis.
“[Moore’s] The administration has yet to release full documents related to his military record, educational history, and background information — records that Spotlight On Maryland has requested for months,” Collins wrote, going on to write that Sun owner and Moore friend Armstrong Williams wrote a column asking the governor to “tell the truth and release the facts.”
Moussa also took aim at Woodall, asking him if Smith was behind his long tweet.
“Did your pro-Trump boss write this? Or do you just monitor your emails?” Moussa said.
Smith previously ruffled feathers on the left when Sinclair pulled a “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its lineup following the comic’s controversial reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder. Sinclair is reportedly the largest shareholder of ABC affiliates – the network that employs Kimmel.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Sinclair and Smith for further comment on Friday.
