A spokeswoman for House Majority Whip Steve Scalise confirmed Monday, that in 2002, the Louisiana Republican spoke to a group of white nationalist leaders, reports the Washington Post.
Mr. Scalise appeared at a convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, founded by Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
According to the SPLC website, the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, “claims to fight for ’White Civil Rights’ for ’European and Americans Wherever They May Live.’ Beyond hosting a website, whitecivilrights.com, and staging an occasional conference, EURO is a paper tiger, serving primarily as a vehicle to publicize [David] Duke’s writing and sell his books.”
Moira Bagley, Mr. Scalise’s spokeswoman, said in a statement to the Post that he was unaware of the group’s ideology. Mr. Scalise was a serving as a state representative at the time of the event.
“He has never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question. The hate-fueled ignorance and intolerance that group projects is in stark contradiction to what Mr. Scalise believes and practices as a father, a husband, and a devoted Catholic,” Ms. Bagley said, according to the Post.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, Texas Democrat, told the Post that he found it “hard to believe given David Duke’s reputation in Louisiana, that somebody in politics in Louisiana wasn’t aware of Duke’s associations with the group and what they stand for.”
No transcript or recording of Mr. Scalise’s remarks from the event are currently available.
• Jennifer Pompi can be reached at jpompi@washingtontimes.com.
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