Trump-backed GOP candidate rips ‘sick’ report tying him to gay hookup web site: ‘Desperate individuals’

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Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno and his authorized group are pushing again in opposition to a report, forward of the state’s GOP main, that attempted to hyperlink him to beforehand holding an account on an grownup hookup web site.

The Associated Press printed a report Thursday claiming that an Adult Friend Finder (AFF) account was created in 2008 utilizing an electronic mail linked to Trump-backed candidate Moreno, who’s operating in a heated main contest for a important Senate seat in Ohio.

The AP couldn’t affirm that the account was created by Moreno himself, however solely that his electronic mail tackle was used to make the account. Former intern Dan Ricci then got here ahead saying he was the one who created the account as a part of a “prank,” which he mentioned in a letter that he’s “thoroughly embarrassed” by.

“It’s a sick, last-minute attack by desperate people. This is what they do. Look at what they did to Judge (Brett) Kavanaugh, look at what they did to President Trump,” Moreno advised Politico in a press release blasting the report.

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Donald Trump returns to Ohio to campaign for Bernie Moreno in the Senate Republican primary

Former President Donald Trump, left, endorsed Republican candidate Bernie Moreno for the Ohio Senate race. (Bernie Moreno marketing campaign)

Charles Harder, authorized counsel for Bernie Moreno, additionally shot down the claims and detailed the prank that he says Moreno “had nothing to do with.”

“16 years ago an intern at Moreno Auto created an account at AFF as a prank, which he quickly abandoned that same day. We have provided AP a copy of a signed letter from that intern, admitting to this, as well as another signed letter from a former VP of Mr. Moreno’s company, confirming this intern’s employment at the time the account in question was created,” Harder mentioned in a press release shared with Fox News Digital. “The email address in question was not Bernie’s personal email address, but rather an email address that appeared on company websites and literature and was managed by staff. Multiple people had access to it, including this intern. Bernie Moreno had nothing to do with the AFF account.”

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“According to metadata, the AFF account was never even used — there were no communications or contacts sent to or from any other AFF accounts, and no photos or content were uploaded to it,” Harder added. “The AFF account existed for less than a half-day, 16 years ago.”

Senate candidate Bernie Moreno is acknowledged at a rally with former President Donald Trump on the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, on April 23, 2022. (Joe Maiorana)

A senior Republican strategist, who requested not to be named due to concern of retaliation, mentioned the “story seems to be shifting.”

“Bernie’s story seems to be shifting. For weeks, his campaign told everyone that the metadata of the website would prove his innocence, but then the AP blew up that claim,” they advised Fox. “Now, Bernie is saying an intern went to where Bernie’s parents lived in Florida and created a gay dating profile for him as a prank. It just doesn’t pass the smell test.”