Attack ad calls out congressional candidate's D.C. work history
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The latest attack ad in Indiana’s second congressional district race calls into question Democratic candidate Mel Hall’s work history.
But is it true?
Ahead November’s midterms, Republican incumbent U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski has been rolling out ads painting her opponent as a D.C. insider.
The commercials raise a few questions about Hall’s past.
Questions like, did Mel Hall work at a lobbying firm and was Mel Hall a lobbyist in D.C.?
The business mentioned in these ads is multinational law firm Dentons.
It operates in over 50 countries and is one of the largest firms in the world.
The company has many different practices including a lobbying division but how close was Hall to it?
“Through March 2014, Mel Hall served as a senior adviser to our law firm,” said a spokesperson for Dentons in a statement to ABC 57 News. “During his time with our law firm, Mel was not a registered lobbyist.”
Hall’s camp said he served as an informal and unpaid health care adviser.
“When you have a failed record, you lie. When you're in trouble, you lie more," said Max Harris, Hall’s campaign manager.
Walorski’s campaign clarified to ABC 57 News the ad never stated he was a registered lobbyist.
“Mel hall’s campaign just confirmed what we already knew: he worked for a big D.C. firm that lobbied for a fraudulent pharmaceutical company, predatory payday lenders, and other special interests,” said Stephen Simonetti, Walorski for Congress campaign manager.