Just when you thought the world was done with Herschel Walker, think again.
New scandalous emails reveal the disgraced former Georgia senator candidate may have used donations for his own personal gain. The Daily Beast reported emails were uncovered showing Walker soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal company that was never disclosed on his financial statements. Walker asked Dennis Washington, billionaire industrialist, to wire $535,200 directly to a company named HR Talent, LLC in March 2022.
Like any other donor during campaign season, Washington assumed his donation would be looked at as a political contribution, but he was wrong. Legal experts claim the transaction may be looked at as a violation of federal fundraising rules or worse – an indication of wire fraud. Federal law doesn’t allow candidates to convert campaign donations to personal use, also limiting how much money individuals can contribute to a campaign and how much candidates can solicit from donors.
Candidates can’t solicit, accept, or facilitate contributions in the name of another person.
According to Business Insider, filings from the Federal Election Commission show Walker never transferred the money to a super PAC supporting his campaign, however, that doesn’t mean he used it for the HR firm. He could have very well returned the money to Washington, but emails can tell a different story.
One email from Tim McHugh, executive vice president for the Washington Corporations, acknowledged that the funds “sent to the HR Talent account cannot legally be used for political purposes.” “Political contributions must go to either the Team Herschel or 34N22 accounts,” McHugh said. Walker was not allowed to solicit donations for the super PAC in excess of federal limits, and this amount of money surpassed that limit. However, McHugh seemed more concerned about the money his boss had wired to HR Talent.
After losing his senatorial bid to Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, Walker closed out his campaign with more than $5 million in funds. He took in $15 million and spent $19.8 million between Nov. 17 and Dec. 28 last year.