Investigation Of Herschel Walker For Potential Violations Of State Law Requested

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Concerned observers are pushing for a Georgia investigation into the circumstances of Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker claiming a tax exemption for a Texas residence that specifies the subject of the break must be a primary place of residence. Walker has continued taking this exemption even while running for Senate in Georgia.

In Georgia, the location where a prospective candidate for Senate takes what’s known as their homestead exemption is a factor in determining whether they meet the legal requirements for holding the position, legal demands that presumably also weigh on the legality of a campaign for the post. “The U.S. Constitution has few restrictions on potential U.S. Senate candidates,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. “Georgia law includes more than a dozen stipulations to be considered when establishing residency, including where the candidate takes his or her homestead exemption.” Walker has claimed an Atlanta-area residence as at least partially his own, but ownership documents identify it as held solely by his wife Julie Blanchard, and rental income was coming in from the property as recently as last year — evidently confirming the couple wasn’t living there.

“Since Walker clearly cannot or won’t answer these questions himself, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation should get answers for Georgians,” Georgia Democratic state Senator Nan Orrock said at a press conference. Voting in Georgia while maintaining a claim of legal residence outside the state could also violate relevant legal rules. A formal complaint over the issue was also filed earlier this week with the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the state attorney general’s office. If Walker was still claiming the Texas tax break even though he actually was no longer living in the state, then that could leave him at odds with the laws in that state — so there’s not really any easy out for Walker here. “Over the last two years, Herschel Walker appears to have declared his residency in two different states to gain access to benefits and rights that are exclusively granted to state residents,” the formal complaint says. The doc also notes that voting despite not being eligible to do so — because of, say, living in Texas — could result in felony criminal charges.