Politics

Ben Carson’s Family Calls Claim They Secretly Work For HUD ‘Epitome Of #FakeNews’

Benny Johnson Columnist, Viral Politics
Font Size:

Ben Carson’s family is flatly denying that they work for their father at the Housing And Urban Development in a nepotistic or nefarious manner.

A series of left-wing websites began propagating a conspiracy theory that HUD Secretary Carson was engaging in nepotism by secretly hiring his family to work inside the department. The claim, made on at least two different websites, originated in a Mother Jones report entitled: “Remember That Time We Were Worried About Ben Carson Being HUD Secretary? We Were Right.”

The reporter uses purely anecdotal evidence of Ben Carson’s son and wife being seen inside the HUD building and traveling with their father on agency visits to their hometown of Baltimore to allege that there is some nefarious activities going on.

Then there was the mystery of why Carson’s family was taking such a visible role in the department. There was the omnipresent Mrs. Carson. Even more striking, however, had been the active role of the secretary’s second-oldest son. Ben Carson Jr., who goes by B.J. and co-founded an investment firm in Columbia, Maryland, that specializes in infrastructure, health care and workforce development, was showing up on email chains within the department and appearing often at headquarters. One day, he was seen leaving the 10th-floor office of David Eagles, the new COO, who was crafting a HUD reorganization to accompany the cuts.

The article goes on to provide no further hard evidence of nepotism within the Carson family and ultimately admits Carson’s family may just be there to support him.

“It was also possible that Ben Jr., and his mom, were so often at his father’s side for just the reason Ben Jr. claimed, to provide support.”

At least one article alleging the patently false claims has printed a correction. At the bottom of their articleNewsone printed:

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly indicated that Ben Carson’s wife and son work at HUD. The headline and text of this story have been updated to reflect this correction.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

The allegations are being called by the Carson family “the epitome of #Fakenews.”  In a statement to The Daily Caller, Ben Carson’s Jr.’s wife, Merlynn Carson, said the claim is “patently false” and “another biased story written by someone looking to discredit my father-in-law because they dislike his politics.”

Here is Merlynn Carson’s full statement below:

I want to respond to the article that came out on January 20th, which first stated, and then was changed to merely question, whether my husband and I work at HUD. Such a statement is patently false, neither my husband nor I work at, or for, HUD. This is the epitome of #FakeNews completely speculative, without basis in reality, and lacks any sort of journalistic credibility.  It would seem that this is simply another biased story written by someone looking to discredit my father-in-law because they dislike his politics.

As most families do, we support each other. Dad, as I call him, overcame dire poverty and many other obstacles to become who he is today, a renowned neurosurgeon and the Secretary of HUD. He embodies the American Dream, in that everything he has achieved has been through hard work and perseverance, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. I believe he should be seen as a role model for this, even those who disagree with his view can’t deny that he has managed to achieve more than most in his lifetime. Dad did not have to take this job as Secretary of HUD, which opens him up to unfounded slander, inaccurate reports resulting from biases, safety issues, as well as negative effects on ones he loves simply because he is related to them. He could have continued his retirement and enjoyed some well-deserved peace and tranquility, but he chose to take this position because he felt that he could make a real and positive impact on peoples’ lives. All his career as a neurosurgeon he has saved lives, and he is continuing to try and do so with his work today at HUD. While we do not work with or for Dad at HUD, I stand by my husband Ben Carson, Jr. in his statement, “We’re here to offer support, whatever we can do”. We support Dr. Ben Carson and his continuous commitment to help people and improve their lives.

~Merlynn Carson

Benny Johnson