The son of Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., has resigned from his father's campaign after a conservative group released an undercover video in which he discussed a plan to cast fraudulent ballots.
Patrick Moran, who had been a field director for the campaign, released a brief resignation statement Wednesday:
Effective immediately, I have resigned from the Moran for Congress campaign.
The resignation came hours after Project Veritas, an organization led by activist James O'Keefe, released a video showing an undercover operative pitching a voter-fraud plan to Patrick Moran. The plan called for casting ballots in the name of 100 voters who were registered but rarely voted.
In the video, Patrick Moran expresses doubts about the plan but eventually tells the undercover volunteer to “look into it.”
He told News4 that he denies wrongdoing:
In reference to the "O'Keefe" video, at no point have I, or will I ever endorse any sort of illegal or unethical behavior. At no point did I take this person seriously. He struck me as being unstable and joking, and for only that reason did I humor him.
In hindsight, I should have immediately walked away, making it clear that there is no place in the electoral process for even the suggestion of illegal behavior, joking or not.
In regards to my position on the campaign, I have stepped down because I do not want to be a distraction during this year's critical election.
The Moran for Congress campaign has not confirmed the authenticity of the video but released the following statement:
Patrick is well liked and was a well-respected member of the campaign team. This incident, however, was clearly an error in judgment. The campaign has accepted Patrick’s resignation, effective immediately.
Rep. Moran's opponent, Col. Patrick Murrray, released a statement saying that while it isn't clear whether there was wrongdoing, the video caused him concern about his opponent.
The integrity of our nation is at stake, and it appears that my opponent's campaign seems prepared to undermine free and fair elections right here in Virginia.
Sadly, anyone who is familiar with Jim Moran will not be surprised by this. The truth is that Moran has a long track record of hyper partisan behavior, racially charged comments and an infamous anger management problem. So this is more of the same embarrassing behavior that we've come to expect from Jim Moran and his campaign.
Rep. Moran and fellow Virginia congressmen Reps. Bobby Scott and Gerry Connolly sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday asking the Justice Department to conduct a multi-state investigation into an incident involving a contractor who was charged last week with destroying voter registration materials.
Moran has been in office for more than two decades. He represents Virginia's 8th District, which includes Alexandria, Falls Church, Arlington and portions of Fairfax County.
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