Alabama's Republican Senate candidate might have a little fraud problem

According to reporting by the Associated Press and the New York Times, the foundation run by Alabama Republican Senate candidate Tommy Tuberville, which claims to be raising money to support U.S. military veterans, allegedly distributed only $5,000 of the $40,000 it raised.

Tuberville’s opponent in the Senate race, incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, responded quickly to the reports, saying: “Maybe the veterans got short-changed because Tommy wanted to run for governor or the Senate. This is not public service. He is not a public servant. This is just someone that’s doing this for his own benefit. He’s the swamp that’s taking care of it itself.”

Most polls show Tuberville leading Jones by double digits in the reliably red state, in which Donald Trump is currently polling ahead of Joe Biden in the presidential race by almost 18 points.

Tuberville’s team claimed the tax records don’t show the full picture. Taking a page out of Trump’s book, the Tuberville campaign blamed the media for spreading disinformation, releasing a statement that reads in part: “The national news media is manufacturing fake narratives and working hand-in-glove with the Doug Jones campaign to try to salvage his failing candidacy and divert attention away from his pro-abortion, anti-gun, and open border Senate voting record.”

The statement also criticized Jones for failing to meet with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett despite what it called “widespread support for her nomination across Alabama.”

Jones, a former U.S. attorney, won his Senate seat in a special election in December 2017 after the incumbent, Jeff Sessions, resigned to become Trump’s attorney general. The Republican nominee in that race was the controversial Judge Roy Moore, whose campaign was accompanied by accusations of sexual assault against him by several women.

Common wisdom holds that Jones cannot win in Alabama again this year, even as Tuberville is embroiled in a string of financial scandals, including a reported history of involvement with financial scam artists that cost him millions.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.