Baltimore’s law department has “cut off, foreclosed, shut down” Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming’s ability to investigate waste, fraud and abuse, the judge overseeing a dispute over her access to records said Friday.

Retired Baltimore Circuit Associate Judge Pamela J. White stopped short of ruling at the hearing but appeared to signal her view of the city’s arguments, saying they were minimizing the authority of the Office of the Inspector General under the city’s charter.

She called the position of Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration “concerning.”

“The OIG is an independent agency within city government,” White said, adding it is expected to carry out its responsibilities “without oversight and without interference from the city law department.”

Cumming sued earlier this year to enforce subpoenas demanding records after the Scott administration moved to cut off the direct access her office has had for the past eight years. In legal filings, the debate broadened into whether Cumming is subject to the oversight of the city solicitor or an independent actor within city government.

The city’s attorneys told the judge Friday that Cumming is a city employee and shouldn’t be able to take such matters to court or hire outside counsel, as she has done with two pro bono attorneys.

Renita Collins, deputy chief of litigation for the city law department, said it’s not unusual for there to be disagreement within city government over advice from the solicitor’s office. But, she said, “We are one city. ... It cannot sue itself.”

Collins repeatedly cited from the city charter, which gives the city’s solicitor broad power over city legal issues.

However, Anthony May, one of Cumming’s attorneys, said the city has an “irreconcilable conflict of interest” over how it views the matter, which allows Cumming to take the issue to court.

May said the city was trying to have it “both ways,” arguing that Cumming is part of government yet subjecting her requests for information to the Maryland Public Information Act. That law governs — and limits — how members of the public can access information from government.

He added that the voters “overwhelmingly” granted the inspector general independence to pursue investigations and access city records without barriers.

The judge said Cumming’s subpoena power has been ”not just debated, but crushed by the decision-making of the solicitor’s office.”

“The allegations in this case as I have reviewed them makes it obvious there is an irreconcilable conflict,” White added.

Friday’s hearing was the first in the dispute. White must still issue a formal ruling on the administration’s request to dismiss Cumming’s attorneys and consider a request made by Cumming for an injunction.