Just when you thought Roy Moore’s Senate race couldn’t get any more puzzling, there’s this.
According to WKRG, a local TV station in Mobile, Alabama, at least one person in the station’s coverage area has received a robocall from someone claiming to be “Bernie Bernstein,” offering cash to women willing to make “damaging remarks” about Republican candidate Roy Moore.
“Hi, this is Bernie Bernstein,” the robocall began. “I’m a reporter for The Washington Post calling to find out if anyone at this address is a female between the ages of 54 to 57 years old willing to make damaging remarks about candidate Roy Moore for a reward of between $5,000 and $7,000. We will not be fully investigating these claims, however we will make a written report. I can be reached by email at albernstein@washingtonpost.com, thank you.”
Only one problem… the call is bogus, according to Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron.
Baron said in a statement that the calls did not come from his newspaper. “The call’s description of our reporting methods bears no relationship to reality,” he wrote. “We are shocked and appalled that anyone would stoop to this level to discredit real journalism.”
The robocall was received by a local pastor who said he was “baffled” about who might be behind the message. He said he sent an email to the address provided but it came back undeliverable.
John Rogers with the Roy Moore campaign told WKRG he hadn’t heard of this type of robocall.
The Post broke the story about multiple women who accused Moore of engaging in sexual misconduct toward them when they were in their teens and Moore was in his 30s.
The report by WKRG was enough to make Bernie Bernstein a trending topic on Twitter Tuesday.
Moore has denied the allegations published by the Post, claiming the Post was spreading false stories about him for political reasons.