In 1997, he took leave from his law practice to serve as senior investigative counsel to the Republican-controlled House Government Reform and Oversight Committee in its investigation into allegations of illegal foreign contributions to former President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign. Democrats called the investigation a Republican boondoggle. It eventually faltered amid partisan discord and the refusal of some witnesses to testify.
Rohrbaugh has also served as president of the Montgomery County Republican Club, which he has described in previous news articles as a "social club" with about 25 members.
Rohrbaugh was appointed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to succeed Stephen Montanarelli, who died in May 2004. During his four-year tenure, Rohrbaugh has expanded the Office of the State Prosecutor, doubling staff size and creating a computer forensic lab to aid in white-collar crime investigations.
FOR THE RECORD - Articles in Sunday's and yesterday's editions of The Sun about the state prosecutor's investigation of Mayor Sheila Dixon misspelled the name of attorney Gerard P. Martin.
The Sun regrets the error.
He has also advocated for expanded subpoena rights for his office, which unlike grand juries or state's attorney's offices, does not have the ability to authorize its own subpoenas. Instead, staff members must drive to the jurisdiction in which they want to execute a subpoena and get a clerk of court or judge to authorize it, a process that can take hours, depending on the location.
"It is incredibly wasteful," said Steven Trostle, a former prosecutor in Rohrbaugh's office who is now in private practice.
After several years of failed attempts, Rohrbaugh persuaded legislators to change the law during the 2008 General Assembly. The new law goes into effect Oct. 1.
But even without subpoena power, the office has managed to pursue cases against some of Maryland's most prominent political players.
This month, developer Edward St. John, chief executive of St. John Properties Inc., was forced to pay $55,000 in civil fines after an investigation by Rohrbaugh's office turned up proof that he had encouraged his vice presidents to make political contributions for which they were later reimbursed.
Rohrbaugh has also investigated allegations of misconduct at the Baltimore liquor board, a state agency that oversees the city's liquor establishments, as well as a multimillion-dollar technology contract by the state Department of Human Resources. Neither inquiry led to indictments.
