Herschel Walker's financial reporting 'may raise questions for voters,' expert says
This post was originally published on this site
It’s incredibly difficult for me to understand a world where Senate candidate Herschel Walker—a man who’s touted a spray that kills COVID-19, lied about finishing college, and doubts evolution—could beat the incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, a Democrat, and the first Black senator elected to serve in the state. But, as I’ve reported in the past, it’s Georgia, and anything’s possible.
Walker, who is fully supported by former President Donals Trump, has raised a ton of money for his campaign and is the current GOP frontrunner. The question that has currently popped up, among others, is: Where does all of his money come from?
According to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), Walker’s personal financial disclosures are murky, which could make it challenging for voters to discern exactly who he’s aligned with.
RELATED STORY: ‘Why Are There Still Apes? Think About It’: Herschel Walker has his doubts about evolution
Walker’s net worth is between $29 million and $65 million, GPB reports. And his income from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021 was reportedly $4 million.
Listen and subscribe to Daily Kos Elections’ The Downballot podcast with David Nir and David Beard
One example of Walker’s possibly opaque reporting comes from Stephen Spaulding, a senior adviser at Common Cause, a government watchdog organization.
“According to this candidate’s financial disclosure form, no person or entity paid more than $5,000 for any services provided by him—at the same time, he disclosed an interest in an LLC valued at more than $25 million and that provides ‘business consulting and professional services,’” Spaulding told GPB. “This may raise questions for voters trying to screen for conflicts of interest who want to know more about who got what from the consulting and professional consulting firm that bears his name and pays him millions in shareholder income.”
Delaney Marsco, a senior legal counsel for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center told GPB that “The lack of sources of compensation over $5,000 definitely raises some red flags … It’s very odd that there would be somebody who has a consulting firm, has a lot of money from that consulting firm but is not reporting any clients that are paying over $5,000.”
In addition to this latest reporting, Walker has openly admitted to mental health issues, along with accusations from his ex-wife of domestic violence. According to the Associated Press, Walker also has had an ongoing issue inflating his wealth.
But beyond exaggerating or lying, Walker seems mostly unable to comprehend complex political concepts. He appeared on Fox News Sunday, calling himself a “warrior of God” and claiming that President Biden’s administration “decided to give up our energy and now we’re not energy independent anymore,” while clearly advocating for more oil drilling. Obviously, he hasn’t read or doesn’t believe the recent climate report released on April 4 that essentially gives the planet three years to stop the worst of global warming, or else.
Meanwhile, although Walker was more than willing to chat up Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo Sunday morning, he skipped out on the first major GOP Senate debate on Saturday.
According to ArcaMax, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, one of Walker’s most well-known GOP opponents, called Walker’s no-show a “shame” and then brought up his domestic violence accusations, arguing that “Anyone who has put their hands on a woman, who has stalked, has threatened police with shootouts does not deserve to be in the U.S. Senate.”
Contractor and veteran Kelvin King added that “Mr. Walker not showing up and not making himself available to the people of Georgia is not serving the people of Georgia … This is an interview process and if you don’t show up for the interview process you don’t get the job.”