Was Lt. Gov. Steele Pelted With Oreos?

WASHINGTON -- You may have heard the stories about Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele being pelted with Oreo cookies, but a WTOP investigation has found that those stories are exaggerated.

The incident occurred three years ago during a debate between Bob Ehrlich and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Michael Steele was running for lieutenant governor at the time.

According to numerous reports in the Washington Times, Steele was "pelted" with Oreo cookies, which signifies a racial slur for being black on the outside and white on the inside.

Times reporter S.A. Miller is one of the writers who referenced the incident in news articles on more than one occasion. Miller told WTOP he attended the event in 2002 and saw Steele get hit with cookies.

When pressed, Miller said he couldn't swear in court that Steele did get hit with cookies because he didn't actually see it happen.

On Tuesday, Steele told WTOP that he was never hit with Oreos and said the incident has been exaggerated.

"I've never claimed that I was hit, no. The one or two that I saw at my feet were there. I just happened to look down and see them," Steele said.

Fran Coombs, managing editor for the Washington Times, told WTOP Miller denies ever speaking to WTOP and said Miller did not attend the Morgan State event. Miller did not return our calls.

Coombs said the paper stands by its reports and thinks the Oreo cookie incident is a diversion from the real story of a double standard on racism in the democratic party.

(Copyright 2005 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)