Sen. Luther Strange dismissed a report Thursday as "fake news" that alleged he was in the room when a Democratic state representative was offered a bribe in exchange for fighting back against the 35th Avenue Superfund site in Birmingham, and called on one of his Republican challengers who repeated the report at a news conference to "hit the confession booth" for spreading "salacious gossip against their brother in Christ."
The Alabama Political Reporter, citing an anonymous source, reported Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham was offered control of a super PAC that Drummond Company would form on his behalf if he spoke out against the superfund designation in north Birmingham. Josh Moon, the reporter who wrote the story, later said on Twitter that at least six people corroborated the unidentified source's account.
Drummond Company was eventually named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being among the "potentially responsible parties" that could be liable for damages at the site. Rogers did not confirm the report to the Alabama Political Reporter, but said he did not accept a bribe.
Rogers later told a reporter that he was not in the room during the alleged bribe.
Strange's campaign said the senator has been the victim of "fake news" reports that they said have also plagued President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Strange is running on the premise that he is the candidate best aligned with Trump's values.
"As Alabama's attorney general, Sen. Strange led the national fight against the over-reaching Obama EPA in order to protect jobs in Alabama and across the country," his campaign said. "The allegations in Josh Moon's article are simply not true and smack of the same fake news that President Trump and Jeff Sessions are dealing with. As shown by the recent Veritas videos exposing CNN, too many in the media are unaccountable and have dropped all pretense of having standards, abusing and using the First Amendment as a cover for lying about their political enemies and boosting their ratings. "
The allegations were reiterated by Republican challenger and Christian Coalition of Alabama President Randy Brinson during a news conference Thursday in Birmingham in an attempt to tie the senator to corruption. The Strange campaign hit back, accusing Brinson of spreading unfounded rumors.
"Anyone who desperately spreads salacious gossip against their brother in Christ needs to hit the confession booth," Strange's campaign said in response.
Strange, then Alabama attorney general, was against the Superfund designation, arguing in 2015 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was overstepping its bounds. He said the agency ruled arbitrarily and without consultation from the state, and did not take into account that Alabama would not use state funds to help clean up the site.
The Alabama Political Reporter story claimed that Strange's opposition to the EPA was "odd," pointing out that his campaign accounts benefited from thousands of dollars from Drummond Corporation.
Other than categorically denying the allegations, the statement from Strange's campaign did not explain the donations.