Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigns

After weeks of growing pleas for her to step down, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned, her attorney said Thursday.

"I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor," she said in a letter read by her lawyer Steve Silverman.

"Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward," the statement continued. Pugh, who has been suffering from health issues, did not appear at the press conference with her attorney.

Pugh, a Democrat, is under investigation for alleged "self-dealing" in connection to the sale of thousands of copies of a self-published children's book series. Many of those sales went to entities that she had influence over or that sought to do business with the city.

In recent weeks, federal agents raided her two homes, her City Hall office and other locations. She has been on an indefinite paid leave of absence from her job as Baltimore's top elected official since April 1, citing health reasons.

Maryland's Office of State Prosecutor and the city's ethics board have launched probes into whether any laws or ethics rules have been violated.

At this time, no local, state, or federal authorities have charged her with any crime.

[SOURCE: NPR]

Rep. Elijah Cummings Statement on Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh

FBI agents raided the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh amid accusations of corruption stemming from the sale of her children's book. Baltimore resident Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07) issued the following statement on Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh:

“I urge Mayor Pugh to put the best interests of the City and its residents first and foremost. Baltimore needs and deserves leadership that is above reproach and which can lead the City forward in ways that engender the trust and confidence of all essential stakeholders. No one questions Mayor Pugh’s passion for Baltimore City and its citizens. At the same time, the circumstances now require that she also provide an example of accountability for those same people. We all want her health to be restored and to now focus on these very grave matters that have everything to do with her personal business endeavors and nothing to do with the priorities of the City of Baltimore.”

Baltimore mayor, Catherine Pugh under fire over book sales, takes leave for health

Baltimore's embattled mayor began an indefinite hiatus on Monday, citing health reasons for her leave on the same day the state's governor called for a probe into sales of her self-published books to a health provider.

Mayor Catherine Pugh has been battling pneumonia for a few weeks and her physicians have advised her to focus on recuperating, her office said in a statement.

"At this time, with the mayor's health deteriorating, she feels as though she is unable to fulfill her obligations as mayor of Baltimore City," the statement from Pugh's office said. "To that end, Mayor Pugh will be taking an indefinite leave of absence to recuperate from this serious illness."

Pugh, who was elected mayor in 2016, has been under fire since the Baltimore Sun reported last month the University of Maryland Medical System paid her $500,000 between 2012 and 2018 to buy copies of her self-published children's book series, "Healthy Holly."

The series promotes healthy choices for children, such as exercise and eating vegetables.

Pugh, a Democrat, was serving on the board of the medical system when she received payments for the books. She was among nine members of the board with some form of business arrangement with the medical system, the newspaper reported.

Read more: Baltimore mayor, under fire over book sales, takes leave for health.