Moore didn’t disclose at least $50K in income on Senate ethics form

Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore failed to disclose at least $50,000 he earned from speaking engagements in his filing to the Senate Ethics Committee.

The former Alabama Supreme Court judge told the Senate Ethics Committee in his filings that he did not profit “for an article, speech or appearance.”

However, Moore’s filings with the Alabama Ethics Commission show that he made between $50,000 and $150,000 from speaking engagements, according to the commission’s 2016 filings.

{mosads}The Daily Beast was the first to report Moore’s failure to disclose such income.

Brett Doster, who is a representative for Moore, called the report a misleading attack on Moore and his wife.

“The 990 form, as reported in the Daily Beast story, is a manipulated document,” Doster said in a statement to The Hill.

“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,” he continued.

Doster said all of the Moore family’s 2016 income and liabilities were disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as well as to State of Alabama Ethics Commission by an accounting service, adding that any mistake made on the Senate Ethics Committee filing “would be corrected swiftly.”

Moore’s filing with the Senate Ethics Committee also failed to line up with his Alabama Ethics Commission filing when it came to outstanding liabilities. 

In his Alabama filing, Moore said he and his wife had between $150,000 and $250,000 in liabilities owed to a credit union or savings and loan associations (including credit cards) last year. However, Moore in his federal filing said he and his wife did not have more than $10,000 in outstanding liabilities. 

It was not immediately clear why the two filings have differences. The Hill has reached out to Moore’s office for comment.

Individuals who submit false information to the Senate Ethics Committee could be subject “to a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 and to disciplinary action by the Ethics Committee,” as well as criminal prosecution, according to the committee’s website.

The report comes two days after Moore clenched the state’s Republican nomination, beating out GOP establishment favorite Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.). 

Moore is seen as a controversial candidate, given his far-right religious views and bombastic rhetoric. 

President Trump, who previously endorsed Strange, has embraced the former judge in recent days. 

-Updated 4:07 p.m.