Juanita Broaddrick has a message for her supporters: Don’t fund me.
Ms. Broaddrick, who has long alleged that she was raped by former President Bill Clinton, said Sunday that a GoFundMe page was recently established on her behalf, but that she asked for it to be removed.
“Well meaning people set up a gofundme page for me. It has now been discontinued at my request,” tweeted Ms. Broaddrick. “I won’t take any money for what I am doing. DO NOT GIVE TO ANY GOFUNDME ACCOUNT FOR ME.”
Well meaning people set up a gofundme account for me. It has now been discontinued at my request. I won’t take money for what I am doing. DO NOT GIVE TO ANY GOFUNDME ACCOUNT FOR ME. THANKS
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) October 1, 2018
Her message came amid news coverage of two GoFundMe accounts set up last month on behalf of Christine Blasey Ford, which soared past their goals and amassed more than $738,000. Both pages have stopped accepting donations.
The accounts, intended to cover expenses stemming from her sexual-assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, have raised questions about whether such crowdfunding campaigns create incentives for accusations against high-profile figures.
“This is a new creature for us, this idea that millions of people can effectively pay you to take a particular position,” George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley said Friday on Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle.”
“We’re in a very strange place right now ethically,” he said.
One GoFundMe page established by Ms. Ford’s “neighbors and colleagues” raised $528,475 before shutting down on Saturday. A second page started by a Georgetown law professor Heidi Feldman to cover Ms. Ford’s security costs stopped taking contributions on Sept. 20 after collecting $209,897.
“Thank you for your support,” said a message by Team Blasey Ford on GoFundMe. “Please continue to support great causes that help women and others speak out and stay strong!”
Ms. Ford said at Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that she was aware of the GoFundMe sites but that she “hadn’t had a chance to figure out how to manage those because I’ve never had one done for me.”
Ms. Broaddrick, who has supported Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, accused Mr. Clinton in 1999 of raping her in a Little Rock hotel room when she was helping with his campaign for Arkansas governor in 1978, which he has denied.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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