SALISBURY, Md. (WBFF) — A previously private dispute between Wicomico County’s two highest-ranking elected officials has reached a breaking point, sparking a potential public records battle over whether the sheriff ordered the county executive to stop sending his deputies sexually explicit images.
Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano and Sheriff Mike Lewis are at odds over the existence of a document that sources allege is a demand for Giordano to cease sending semi-nude, nude or pornographic photographs of herself to sheriff’s deputies.
While Giordano flatly denied that such a document exists, describing the allegations as a “horrific rumor” and a product of political malice, Sheriff Lewis confirmed the letter’s existence in an interview last week. However, he said he would not release it to the public without a court order.
The conflicting accounts have prompted Spotlight on Maryland to file a formal demand for records under the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA). The county has thus far withheld key documents, citing exemptions for personal privacy and records being “investigatory.”
The controversy stems from allegations that Giordano, both during her 2022 campaign and early into her tenure as county executive, sent nude or semi-nude photos to deputies in the sheriff’s office. Sources familiar with the matter allege that in October 2024, Lewis issued a letter to the county executive demanding an end to the behavior.
When asked about the situation last week, Giordano dismissed the claims as “false narratives.”
There was never a letter sent to stop,” Giordano said. “So, basically what happened was, there was a horrific rumor that went around, and that’s just what happens in a campaign, and so, we’ve moved on from it.”
Giordano said she and Lewis had discussed the matter and worked through it.
“We have a campaign coming up, so I think we have handled it quite well, and Sheriff Lewis and I have had those conversations,” Giordano said. “He seems to be, ‘I don’t really know where this came from, I don’t know why this happened,’ and that sort of thing, so we’ve worked together on that and sort of got over it together.”