Herschel Walker, the leading Republican contender for the Georgia U.S. Senate seat that will be on the ballot this fall, apparently left almost $3.2 million in income off an initial federal financial disclosure associated with his candidacy, an issue that’s come to light because — some five months later — he’s filed an updated form including the amount.
As explained by Insider, a December 2021 filing from Walker said he and his wife brought in a collective total of $927,886 from late 2020 to the close of 2021 via a variety of means. That total included a $100,000 salary from a company identified as Renaissance Man Food Services, LLC. Walker — who has Trump’s support and is expected to win the upcoming Republican primary for that Senate seat — previously described that company as “the largest minority-owned food company in the United States,” which doesn’t appear to be correct according to any reasonable estimation. The claim seems flat-out ridiculous. The some $3.2 million income that Walker newly disclosed is from an entity called H. Walker Enterprises.
As a pro-choice pastor, I’ve always believed that a patient's room is way too small for a woman, her doctor, and the United States government.
I'll always fight to protect a woman's right to choose. And that will never change.
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Insider says H. Walker Enterprises bills itself as aiming to “establish a business structure capable of servicing food service, corporate and retail customers with a variety of products on a national level.” The income is identified in Walker’s new disclosures as “partnership distributions.” Walker, it’s worth noting, has a history of seeming to falsely represent his business activities. As previously reported here, in February of this year, he claimed to have “started this little… drapery company, where I still have about 250 people that sew drapery and bedspreads for me.” In reality, the company — which Walker has referred to as both Renaissance Manufacturing and Renaissance Hospitality, both of which no longer actually exist — doesn’t seem to have been started or legitimately owned by him in any legally meaningful sense, although more information could be out there relating to this.
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It appears as though the relevant authority for Walker’s disclosure is the Senate Ethics Committee. “Personal financial disclosures of House and Senate candidates, as well as ethics rules should be addressed by the appropriate offices on Capitol Hill,” the Federal Election Commission says, and Insider cites the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics as an authority on this matter. The financial disclosures are not optional — they’re a legal requirement, and violations could lead to fines or Justice Department investigations, although just to be clear: there’s no apparent indication at this point of a federal inquiry into Walker’s financial disclosure forms. A financial disclosure for Senate contenders is required within 30 days of a given individual’s candidacy becoming active. Insider says substantial consequences for misstatements in candidates’ required financial disclosures are rare. Going forward, polling suggests the expected general election match-up between Walker and incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock will be close, although the most recent survey cataloged by RealClearPolitics has Warnock ahead by 5 percent.
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