Dixon's lawyer, Dale P. Kelberman, also criticized the prosecutor, calling him "unaccountable." He said the prosecutor's office has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on investigations that "went nowhere" and suggested this one would also result in no charges. Federal prosecutors spent 18 months investigating hiring, spending and other practices at City Hall but ended their probe without filing any charges.
"The state prosecutor has no limitation on the extent to which he can conduct an investigation of this type except his judgment," Kelberman said. "We leave to the public the verdict on what they think of that judgment."
It is not uncommon for such investigations to drag on as prosecutors build evidence for a case. In Maryland, for instance, the federal investigation of former state Sen. Thomas L. Bromwell took years.
Kelberman and Sterling Clifford, a Dixon spokesman, said they could not say where the search warrant was filed or what prosecutors removed from the house. It was also unclear why prosecutors issued subpoenas yesterday to the five city employees, some of whom worked for Dixon when she was council president.
Those employees are Lauretta Brown, deputy director of the mayor's Office of Constituent Services; Chelsea Scott, a secretary in the mayor's office; Sharon Jackson, an assistant in the mayor's office; Wanda Watts, with the city's Health Department; and Anne Lansey, with the Department of Transportation.
Dixon, a Baltimore native, formally entered politics in 1987 when she won the City Council seat Kweisi Mfume vacated when he was elected to Congress. After serving as council president for six years, Dixon overwhelmingly won the 2007 Democratic primary and general election for mayor.
For months, she has been able to put the investigation aside, focusing instead on city government. The raid comes six months into her new term, which has been defined by a large drop in the number of homicides and an effort to make the city cleaner.
Several political allies - and even former opponents - offered Dixon support yesterday.
"I am convinced she would not jeopardize her incredibly good record as mayor," said state Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat and Dixon ally. "I say that with much affection because she has been doing a great job. This is old. We just need to move on."
