The top Baltimore prosecutor indicted this week on federal perjury charges modeled herself on Vice President Kamala Harris, who in turn supported her protégé, saying she “cannot fail.”
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, 41, previously called Harris her “inspiration” and “role model” as a progressive prosecutor, proudly posting a photo of them smiling together on her Instagram.
“There would be no Marilyn Mosby without Kamala Harris,” the scandal-scarred prosecutor told The Baltimore Sun in November 2020 after her idol’s historic posting as VP-elect.
“She’s a bold, brilliant, beautiful black woman,” Mosby gushed, saying Harris “inspired” her to run as her city’s top prosecutor, a position that is up for re-election later this year.
Mosby said she used Harris’ own work as a California attorney general as a model for her progressive reforms, which already made her a divisive figure ahead of her federal grand jury indictment Thursday on charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications.
The respect was not one-sided, and Harris had campaigned in support of the rising Democrat figure, helping Mosby keep her $248,000-a-year job, according to Fox News.
“When we march and we shout about what we need to do to reform the criminal justice system, we better understand that we gotta march and shout with our paychecks,” the then-Sen. Harris reportedly said during a fundraiser in Los Angeles in 2017..
“And all of the work that we can do to actually make sure that somebody like Marilyn Mosby gets reelected into that office, to not only get convictions, but have convictions,” Harris said at the time, according to the Fox report.
Even then, Harris conceded that there were “a lot of people who are highly critical” of her protégé.
“She cannot fail and I know she will not fail,” Harris said, according to Fox.
Mosby, who is married to Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, landed the top job in 2015 and was re-elected in 2018. She has until next month to file paperwork to seek her third term in elections later this year.
The four-count indictment Thursday accuses her of falsely claiming twice to have suffered a work-related financial hardship from COVID-19 in order to request early withdrawals totaling $90,000 from her city employee retirement account to instead buy homes in Florida.
The two perjury counts each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and the two mortgage-related counts each carry a maximum of 30 years in prison.
“We will fight these charges vigorously, and I remain confident that once all the evidence is presented, that she will prevail against these bogus charges,” her attorney, A. Scott Bolden, said.
He insisted the charges were “rooted in personal, political and racial animus five months from her election.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment, Fox News said.
With Post wires
