By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) wrote to the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., requesting an immediate investigation into whether U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore failed to declare honoraria earned, liabilities owed, and compensation received on his financial disclosure statement, in violation of federal law and Senate rules.
The CLC is the non-profit “watch dog” that the Daily Beast cited as experts for their Thursday, September 28 story charging that Moore had violated campaign reporting requirements when his June Senate disclosure form appeared to have discrepancies with his filing with the Alabama Ethics Commission two months earlier.
The Senior Director of Trial Litigation and Strategy for CLC Adav Noti wrote in the letter to Chairman Isakson: “Moore, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Alabama , filed his Senate financial disclosure report with this office on June 26, 2017, and certified that ‘the statements I have made on this form are true, complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.’ The instructions state that the reporting period for honoraria , income, assets and liabilities is the preceding calendar year and the crrent calendar year, up to the date of filing the report; in Moore’s case, this means the relevant reporting period is January 1, 2016 through June 27, 2017. Two months before Moore filed his Senate financial disclosure report, he filed a Statement of Economic Interests with the Alabama Ethics Commission similarly reflecting honoraria, income, assets and liabilities for calendar year 2016.”
The Moore campaign said the allegations were another misleading attack on Moore and his wife.
On Saturday, September 30 the Moore campaign issued a statement in response to the Daily Beast reporting.
“This is another misleading attack on Judge Moore and his wife,” Moore’s campaign said. “First, the 990 Form, as reported in the Daily Beast story, is a manipulated document. Second, the liabilities Judge Moore disclosed on his Alabama ethics filing were not required to be disclosed on his U.S. Senate filing, which does not require Senate candidates to disclose mortgages on their personal residences. Third, all of the Moore Family’s income and liabilities for 2016 were fully disclosed to the State of Alabama Ethics Commission and the Internal Revenue Service by McGriff Dowdy & Associates, a professional accounting service. Any perceived discrepancy in the reporting of honoraria on the form Judge Moore filed with the U.S. Senate will be corrected swiftly by the filing of an amendment, as provided in Chapter 5 (p. 127) of the Senate Ethics Manual.”
Moore is a former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Moore faces Clinton era U.S. Attorney Doug Jones in the special general election on Dec. 12, 2017.
