Roy Moore Campaign Calls on Washington Post to Retract Tax Story, Fire Reporters ‘Who Cooked Up’ ‘Fake News’

In a statement issued Friday, the campaign for former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore called on The Washington Post to retract a report claiming charity that he headed did not report to the IRS that in 2011 “it guaranteed him $498,000 in back pay.”

According to the Post’s Robert O’Harrow Jr. and Shawn Boburg, that guarantee by the Foundation for Moral Law should have been reported as compensation, and “would have triggered a federal tax bill of more than $100,000.”

“The Washington Post recently published a number of hit pieces on Judge Moore and how he was compensated by the Foundation for Moral Law for work performed on their behalf,” a statement attributed to Moore campaign chairman Bill Armistead said. “The stories have contained misrepresentations and inconsistencies designed, not to tell the truth, but to hurt Judge Moore politically.”

Armistead argued the Post “contradicted itself” because an October 11 story it published claimed Moore earned more than $1 million.

The statement also disputed the Post’s claim Moore owed the IRS money, given Moore had not yet received the money that was guaranteed.

“In today’s story, the Post alleges that Judge Moore failed to pay taxes on a promissory note he was issued as an IOU by the Foundation, but the law requires no one to pay taxes on income not yet received,” Armistead said. “Jimmy Williamson, a CPA, former IRS agent, and past Chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants further confirmed this: ‘Mortgages and promissory notes for payment are not designated as income received until those moneys are paid. According to IRS Publication No. 17, individuals report income only when received.’”

Armistead went on to call on the Post to retract the story and to fire O’Harrow and Boburg for the “fake news.”

“Judge Moore is an honorable man who has served the public according to the highest of ethical standards and in accordance with the law. The Washington Post should retract its story immediately and fire the reporters who cooked up this latest batch of fake news.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor