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Shop NowIt’s no secret that Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia has been in hot water recently due to his financial disclosure forms.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, Warnock reported earning $155,000 from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta – a figure well above the Senate limit of about $30,000 for outside income.
NEW: Raphael Warnock used a sketchy accounting loophole to evade outside income limits in 2022.
He claimed $125k in "deferred compensation" for work he did for his church before 2021.
There’s just one problem: The arrangement seems entirely fabricated.https://t.co/28Q5s4d01G
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) August 22, 2023
Sen. Warnock claims that the payment was deferred compensation for work with the church prior to being sworn into office in January 2021.
However, this claim is highly contentious and considered “entirely fabricated” by Andrew Kerr of The Washington Free Beacon who noted that anything from the time when Warnock said he was owed money should have been reported in his 2021 financial disclosure form.
Furthermore, an investigation into the Ebenezer Building Foundation’s “nonprofit” status by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger revealed that it did not register as a charitable organization, and that Senator Warnock was listed as its principal officer on its 2020 IRS Form 990.
Kendra Arnold – executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust – raised eyebrows about Warnock’s arrangement claiming “If it was inaccurately reported on his filing and the money was actually earned after he became a senator, then the outside earned income limit would apply.”
She further argued “in that case the legal issue that would arise (in addition to exceeding the outside income limit) is filing inaccurate or false information on a personal financial disclosure,” adding “i.e. wrongly saying it was deferred compensation when it wasn’t.”
In 2021 alone, The Washington Free Beacon alleges Sen. Warnock took advantage of what they call a “creative accounting trick” when $89,000 out of $120,000 given to him by Ebenezer Baptist Church were labeled towards a parsonage allowance which helps maintain his home – something which neither party commented on despite multiple requests from media outlets such as themselves.
In total last year, Pete McGinnis – communications director for the Functional Government Initiative – claims Sen. Warnek’s income totaled up to around $996,000, with $174,000 coming from his congressional salary alone.
