Top Maryland Dem denies claim that sheriff demanded she stop sexting his deputies

A dispute between two high-ranking Maryland officials has boiled over into a salacious public brouhaha in which the sheriff says he has proof he asked a county executive to stop sending racy pictures to his deputies.

Democratic Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano has emphatically denied the claims brought by Sheriff Mike Lewis, who says he has documentary evidence that he formally made the unusual request in writing.

Giordano dismissed the allegations as a “horrific rumor” sparked by a political vendetta and denied the document even exists.

Democratic Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano denies allegations that county Sheriff Mike Lewis sent her a cease-and-desist letter to stop sending nude photographs to his deputies. Facebook/Julie Giordano

Lewis has stuck to his guns, but says he will not release the letter to the public without a court order, according to FOX Baltimore’s Spotlight on Maryland.

Starting during her 2022 campaign and continuing into the early days of her tenure in office, Giordano allegedly sent “nude or semi-nude” photos to multiple sheriff’s deputies.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet says in October 2024 Lewis finally had enough and issued a letter to the county executive demanding she put an end to the untoward behavior.

Asked about the allegations last week, Giordano waved off the existence of the letter as “false narratives” and claimed she and the sheriff had met to discuss the matter.

“There was never a letter sent to stop. 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.

Lewis maintains he has proof of the letter’s existence but has refused to release it without a court order. Facebook/Julie Giordano

“We have a campaign coming up, so I think we have handled it quite well, and Sheriff Lewis and I have had those conversations,” she added.

As for whether she actually shared intimate photos with sheriff’s deputies, Giordano demurred.

“I don’t believe that there are any deputies who have claimed to have received any of them, at least not that I know of,” she said.

“I know of none that have claimed to have received anything.”

Lewis declined when Spotlight on Maryland pressed him to release the alleged cease-and-desist letter, saying “I’m not going to give you a copy of that letter unless I’m ordered to by the court. And when I’m ordered by the court, you will get a copy of that letter.”

However the outlet claims the county inadvertently proved the existence of the letter in response to its public records request.

Their first request lodged in January asked for any communications containing terms like “nudes” and “pornographic” was ignored, at which point the outlet’s parent company Sinclair issued a formal demand.

The county attorney responded, claiming the release of the records would be an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

Giordano later flatly denied ever receiving any such letter.

“I never received a cease-and-desist letter,” she said. “I would go on the record and say that the reason that the document didn’t get released is because it doesn’t exist because I never received a cease-and-desist letter from them.”

The outlet has since sent a final demand letter to the sheriff’s office, indicating it plans on filing suit if they weren’t provided within two days.

Lewis admitted he and Giordano have had a difficult relationship at times, but claimed the pair have endeavored to put the “bad chapter” behind them.

“I have not always had a good relationship with my county executive,” Lewis told the outlet.

“For the last year and a half, I think we both have worked very hard to get along for the betterment of Wicomico County.”

But he again noted that the letter is indeed very real, but up to the press to dig up.

“I obviously believe in truth, and if you guys obviously choose to explore other means to get a copy of that letter — that does exist — that’s on you guys.”