Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar’s family owns a large farm the Hoosier State, spokesman David Willkie told The Daily Caller.
When asked whether the farm was in Lugar’s name, Willkie said that it’s “within the family” and that “multiple owners” are listed on the deed.
The statement came after TheDC published a story concerning Lugar’s residency situation in Indiana, where he has not lived since selling his home in 1977. When initially asked by TheDC whether Lugar owns any property in Indiana, a spokesman for the senator had said he did not.
“He does not have a house in Indiana but that is immaterial to this,” the spokesman said then.
According to Willkie, Lugar is “an owner” of the “604-acre family corn, soybean, and tree farm in Marion County, Indiana.” Moreover, Willkie said, the 79-year-old Lugar “actively manages” and pays property taxes on the farm.
“Lugar’s time spent managing his farm keeps him grounded in the work that he does for the Senate Agricultural Committee and for the people in Indiana,” Willkie said. “People that tell you differently, never grew up on a farm in Indiana.”
Willkie also said, however, that Lugar does not stay at the farm when he is in Indiana.
“There’s no house at the farm that you would stay in, so far as a physical residence,” Willkie said. “There’s a multitude of places where he stays.”