House Speaker John A. Boehner is standing by one of his top lieutenants after reports surfaced that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, spoke at an event more than a decade ago that was hosted by a group former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke founded.
“More than a decade ago, Representative Scalise made an error in judgment, and he was right to acknowledge it was wrong and inappropriate,” Mr. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said in a statement.
Mr. Boehner said that like many colleagues on both sides of the aisle he knows Mr. Scalise to be a man of “high integrity and good character” and that Mr. Scalise has his “full confidence” as whip.
Mr. Scalise, then a state representative, appeared at an event hosted by the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), a group founded by Mr. Duke.
Mr. Scalise said he doesn’t remember speaking at the event and if he knew today what they were about, he wouldn’t go.
“I didn’t know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group,” he told the Times-Picayune. “For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous.”
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News of the appearance first surfaced on the liberal blog CenLamar.com.
Mr. Duke, who was not at the event but appeared remotely, derided the criticism as “typical partisan politics,” but told the paper he’s never had a relationship with Mr. Scalise and wouldn’t vote for him anyway because he disagrees with his policy on Israel.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, also offered his support Tuesday, saying he knows Mr. Scalise does not share the beliefs of the organization.
Mr. Scalise also got support from Rep. Cedric Richmond, the only Democrat in Louisiana’s delegation, who told the Times-Picayune that “I don’t think Steve Scalise has a racist bone in his body.”
A spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said Mr. Scalise’s involvement with a group classified as anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League and a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center is “deeply troubling for a top Republican leader in the House,” using the incident to criticize Republicans over the Voting Rights Act and immigration.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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