Politics

Alabama Pastor Says He Received Phony Call Offering Money For Dirt On Roy Moore

REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan

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Eric Lieberman Managing Editor
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A pastor says he received a call from someone claiming to be a reporter from The Washington Post looking for dirt on Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, according to a WKRG report.

“Hi, this is Bernie Bernstein, I’m a reporter for The Washington Post calling to find out if anyone at this address is a female between the ages of 54 to 57 years old willing to make damaging remarks about candidate Roy Moore for a reward of between $5000 and $7000 dollars,” the phony message reads. “We will not be fully investigating these claims however we will make a written report. I can be reached by email at albernstein@washingtonpost.com, thank you.”

LISTEN:

Al Moore of Creola, Ala. says he doesn’t know who’s behind the message left on his phone, which is almost certainly a hoax of some sort since no one named Bernie Bernstein works for WaPo, and the publication’s executive editor vehemently denied it.

“The Post has just learned that at least one person in Alabama has received a call from someone falsely claiming to be from The Washington Post,” WaPo’s executive editor Marty Baron said in a statement, according to WKRG. “The call’s description of our reporting methods bears no relationship to reality. We are shocked and appalled that anyone would stoop to this level to discredit real journalism.”

And the scheming trick didn’t just take a shot at the industry — it also appeared to play on Jewish stereotypes with the name Bernie Bernstein.

The apparent attempt at deceit is fairly sloppy and no doubt ineffective in its ostensible purpose of acquiring incriminating information on Moore or adulterating the credibility of WaPo. But it does play upon other highly unsubstantiated, similar stories, which also tried to discredit WaPo’s reporting on a serious issue.

One of the latest polls still has Moore ahead of Democratic challenger Doug Jones, despite the disturbing detailed allegations made against him.

Moore’s office did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment by time of publication.

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