Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff continues to accuse incumbent Senator David Perdue (R-GA) of insider trading, though Perdue has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The Senate Ethics Committee, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) all cleared Perdue earlier this year.
Ossoff has accused Perdue as recently as Tuesday, tweeting a dated clip from CNN discussing the brief email exchange between Grimes and the senator in January. However, investigations determined that the correspondence didn’t include any nonpublic data.
Yet, CNN correspondent Dana Bash questioned Ossoff about his basis for calling Perdue a crook. Bash reiterated that Perdue was cleared, and clarified that the senator wasn’t charged with any crime.
“[C]alling him a crook suggests he committed a crime, which, again, the Justice Department found no evidence of – they didn’t even pursue charges,” she said. Fair?”
Ossoff disagreed with Bash, holding to the claim that Perdue was “exploiting his office, exploiting his access to privileged information, exploiting his power to enrich himself while his own constituents are suffering and dying absolutely make Senator Perdue a crook.”
During a press conference on Monday, the Democratic challenger focused on accusing the senator of “enrich[ing] himself” through insider trading after describing how he’d fed the hungry on Thanksgiving Day. Ossoff claimed that Perdue relied on “classified information” to engage in “a pattern of misconduct.”
In response to Ossoff’s accusations, Perdue released another ad debunking the claims. The video stated that Perdue wasn’t present at the senate briefing discussing COVID-19, and reiterated that the senator was cleared of wrongdoing by multiple investigative teams.
“Jon Ossoff believes if you repeat a lie enough, people will believe it,” the add said.
The Georgia Star News asked Perdue’s campaign whether they planned on taking further action against Ossoff’s repeated accusations beyond a response ad. Spokespersons with Perdue’s campaign didn’t respond by press time.
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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jon Ossoff” by Jon Ossoff.
