Tipsheet

Wes Moore Laughably Smears This Paper as ‘Right Wing’ After They Might Have Found Some Dirt on Him

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  April 09, 2026 11:35 PM

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore might run for president in 2028. He presents himself as a pragmatist with a military background and someone who avoids the loud and abrasive politics within the Democratic Party regarding Donald Trump. However, lying about military service could seriously damage Moore, although I believe he and his team overestimate how their party’s base would respond: like us, they would support their candidate no matter what. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) blatantly lied about his military service; he never served in Vietnam, and he was still elected. 

Meanwhile, the governor’s office and the Baltimore Sun have been in a long-standing dispute over an article questioning Moore’s military record. And yes, in emails between them, Moore’s office threatened to damage the paper’s reputation. Calling it right-wing for pursuing a story about a Democrat, however, is weak sauce (via Free Beacon): 

Moore, a prospective 2028 Democratic presidential prospect, has taken a public beating in the wake of news reports from the Washington Free Beacon and other out-of-state outlets that exposed a litany of false statements about his family history, his upbringing, and his academic, athletic, and military achievements. Now, the Baltimore Sun, together with a local network collaboration known as Spotlight on Maryland, is getting in on the action with a series months in the making that will apparently examine whether Moore exaggerated his military and athletic accomplishments beyond what is already known. 

Spotlight on Maryland managing editor Candy Woodall said Wednesday that Moore's team "warned" her privately in January that it would work to tarnish the Sun's reputation by sending "files to every media reporter" in the country if it continued its probe into Moore's military records. 

Moore's team followed through on that threat this week, with Semafor on Sunday publishing a trove of documents provided by Moore's office showing their communications with Sun reporters dating back to November. Though the documents shed light on the nature of the Sun's pending reporting and show that the Sun reporters believe Moore's team has stonewalled their inquiries for months, to Semafor, they also reveal that Moore and his team believe that the paper is being weaponized by its new owner, David Smith, a longtime Republican donor and executive chairman of the Sinclair television network. 

[…] 

As for the nature of the pending joint investigation from the Sun and Spotlight on Maryland, the emails published by Semafor show it has been tugging on intriguing threads about Moore's military service in Afghanistan in 2005, including allegations that the accomplishments credited to Moore in his Army Officer Evaluation Report were aggrandized as part of an effort "to help manufacture Moore into a candidate for future political office" in violation of Army Regulations and federal ethics rules.

That evaluation report, according to the emails, was approved by then Lt. Col. Michael Fenzel, a close personal friend of Moore who served as his supervisor in Afghanistan and, later, as a groomsman in his wedding. 

Should the reporting materialize, it could prove damaging to Moore's 2028 presidential aspirations, which may explain his decision to go on the offensive against the Sun even before its investigation hits the airwaves. 

How bad are these records, Mr. Moore? Also, I’m sorry, The Baltimore Sun is a right-wing outlet? Please. Not even remotely believable.