By Bill Barrow
Associated Press
Herschel Walker, a Republican Senate candidate from Georgia who has vehemently opposed abortion rights, paid for his girlfriend's termination of pregnancy in 2009, according to a report released Monday night.
The candidate called the allegation a "blatant lie" and said he will file a lawsuit.
The Daily Beast news outlet spoke with a woman who claims that Walker paid for an abortion for her when they were dating.
As evidence, he provided a receipt showing a payment of $575 for the procedure, along with a card in Walker's name wishing him a speedy recovery and his bank statements showing a check from Walker for $700. dollars dated five days after the abortion.
According to the woman, Walker encouraged her to have an abortion, telling her that it was not the right time to have a baby, The Daily Beast reported.
[Her 16-year-old daughter died after being denied an abortion: "It's outrageous that her story is repeating itself"]
Walker, in a May 23 file photo. Akili-Casundria Ramsess / AP
In a statement, Walker said he would file a lawsuit against the media outlet: "This is an outright lie, and I deny it in the strongest possible terms," he said.
Matt Fuller, editor of The Daily Beast, tweeted in response: "I can tell you that we stand by every word and are very confident."
Walker appeared on Fox News on Monday, and was asked if he remembered sending his girlfriend a $700 check at the time.
“Well, I sent money to a lot of people,” he said, “I send money to people all the time, I'm always helping people.
I believe in being generous.
God has blessed me.
I want to bless others.”
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The indictment against Walker, a
football
legend making his political debut in one of the closest Senate races, adds to a string of outrageous stories about him.
Earlier this year he admitted to reports that he had three children he had never spoken about.
He has often boasted about his work helping members of the Armed Forces and veterans with mental health issues.
However, The Associated Press reported in May that she had exaggerated her role in a for-profit program that allegedly took advantage of veterans and service members to defraud the government.
It also reported that Walker was accused of threatening to kill his ex-wife on multiple occasions, according to court records.
He exaggerated his financial success with his financial associates and alarmed them at his unpredictable behavior.
Walker himself has spoken on occasion about his mental health struggles.
As a Senate candidate, Walker has supported a nationwide ban on abortions with no exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or risk to a woman's health, something particularly notable at a time when the Supreme Court struck down constitutional protections for abortion and Democrats are discussing codifying abortion rights into federal law.
"I'm pro-life," Walker said repeatedly on the campaign trail.
When asked if he would allow any exceptions, he said there are "no excuses" for the procedure.
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Walker has dodged questions about his support for a national abortion ban, instead trying to turn the issue against his Democratic rival, Sen. Raphael Warnock, who supports abortion rights.
Walker often characterizes abortion as "a woman killing her baby" and says she doesn't understand how Warnock, a Baptist minister, can support its legality.
At a rally Monday in Dunwoody, an Atlanta suburb, Warnock emphasized his support for abortion rights.
“I have a deep reverence for life.
I have a deep and abiding respect for the election.
I think a patient's room is too small and cramped a place to fit her, her doctor and her government,” she said, referring to Walker's proposal to ban abortion nationwide.
Warnock avoided commenting on The Daily Beast's story when asked for comment on whether it could affect the race in Georgia.
"I'll let the experts decide," he said.
Walker's son, Christian Walker, criticized his father in a series of tweets Monday night, saying his family "asked him not to run."
"I don't care when someone with a dark past takes responsibility," Christian Walker tweeted.
“But how DARE YOU LIE and act like you're a 'moral, Christian, upright man'?
You have lived a life DESTROYING other people's lives.
How dare you?".