Steffen's comments on the effort to spread rumors about O'Malley began with postings from a wide range of people, with different takes on the story that the mayor had fathered a child out of wedlock.
One participant working under the handle MD4BUSH, whose identity is unknown, drew Steffen into a private conversation and appeared to coax him to share more details about his role in spreading the rumor. Copies of those chat room e-mails were later provided to The Washington Post.
The Oct. 18 conversation began with MD4BUSH complimenting Steffen and saying how obvious it was that the rumors about the mayor were true. Steffen, writing under the name NCPAC, replied:
"I don't look for the MO'M [O'Malley] story to hit for a little bit yet. . . . However, a lot of what everyone knows about MO'M is because of work that has occurred. It's been a wild ride."
MD4BUSH later probed further:
"Your saying that my dentist knows [about the rumors] because of work you did? Wow, I must say, I'm impressed. I mean really, everyone knows -- how did that happen?"
Steffen replied: "A few folks put in a lot of effort to ensure the MO'M story got some real float."
A few weeks later, MD4BUSH contacted NCPAC again, asking, "If some of my friends and I were interested in keeping the story floating, do you have suggestions for us on how best to do it?"
Here, Steffen backed away: "I am sure you will understand, I cannot and will not offer suggestions that may be considered unethical concerning what you should do, campaign-wise. This is especially true concerning MO'M's personal life."
Staff researchers Bobbye Pratt and Derek Willis contributed to this report.
