Washington, D.C. – This weekend, the New York Times published a glowing piece on Senator Raphael Warnock. That part isn’t surprising.
However, citing an expert to discuss the evictions from a low-income housing unit owned by Warnock’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Times quoted Derrick Harkins, director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of course, Harkins called the allegations untrue.
But the Times failed to disclose one MAJOR piece of background on Harkins – that he was a highly paid Democrat National Committee (DNC) operative who helped elect Raphael Warnock in 2020.
As reported by the Washington Free Beacon:
A New York Times profile of Sen. Raphael Warnock quotes a federal official who downplays the Georgia Democrat’s ties to a management company that evicted low-income residents. But the Times neglected to disclose one thing: The official was a paid Democratic operative who helped elect Warnock in 2020.
Derrick Harkins, director of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told the Times it is “just not correct” to say Warnock’s Ebenezer Baptist Church had a direct hand in filing eviction notices against residents of its low-income apartment building. The Democratic National Committee paid Harkins over $175,000 in political consulting fees in 2019 and 2020. As the DNC’s director of interfaith outreach, Harkins boosted Warnock in his runoff campaign against former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R., Ga.).
Maya King, the Times reporter who wrote the profile, did not return a request for comment…
Harkins told the Times that Warnock “is certainly not overseeing the operational elements of a property that is part of the larger portfolio that’s under the umbrella of what Ebenezer has put together.” But Ebenezer Baptist Church lists Warnock as the principal officer of a charity through which it owns 99 percent of Columbia Tower at MLK Village. Warnock serves as senior pastor of the church, which pays him a $7,417-per-month housing allowance on top of his Senate salary.
Read more at the Washington Free Beacon
###
