The Department of Homeland Security is coming under fire for publicly attacking Democratic congressional candidate Janelle Stelson less than a month before the midterm election.
Why it matters: The Stelson campaign is threatening a lawsuit over the allegations, while a watchdog group is seeking an investigation into whether an ICE official violated restrictions on partisan political activity by federal employees.
- "We are likely to take legal action to combat the blatant lies and coordinated misinformation campaign," Stelson campaign manager Alma Baker said in a statement to Axios.
- The campaign said Friday it has sent out cease and desist letters, viewed by Axios, to several news outlets that reported DHS's claims as fact.
- The race between Stelson and Republican Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania's 10th district is one of the most competitive and expensive House elections in the country, attracting more than $26 million in spending, according to AdImpact.
Driving the news: DHS published a press release on Wednesday announcing the arrest of what it said was an "illegal alien from Nigeria who exposed himself in public while working for congressional campaign in Pennsylvania."
- The migrant, Chimaobim Adedayo Igbojekwe, was arrested by ICE on Oct. 1 after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct last month, according to the press release.
- The release included a statement from ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall saying: "It's unbelievable that Janelle Stelson would employ an illegal alien to work on a Congressional campaign, let alone a pervert who exposed himself in public."
Stelson herself quickly batted down the claim: "He's not an employee. He's not a volunteer," she said at an event on Wednesday.
- Nobody named Igbojekwe was paid by the Stelson campaign as of Sept. 30, according to disbursements tracked by the Federal Election Commission. The campaign also showed Axios a search of its volunteer database that turned up no results for the name.
- In its cease-and-desist letter, the campaign said Igbojekwe has also "never been employed by any vendors of the campaign."
- Asked Thursday for comment on this story, DHS sent Axios its initial press release. The agency did not respond to multiple follow-up emails requesting comment on the Stelson campaign's threat of legal action.
Between the lines: DHS cited a New Jersey-based news outlet called "Shore News Network" as its source for the claim that Igbojekwe was a Stelson canvasser. That outlet cited a social media post from conservative activist Scott Presler.
- "A canvasser for democrat Janelle Stelson ... was reportedly charged for indecent exposure," Presler wrote in a post on X, which included a photo of a court document that did not make reference to the Stelson campaign.
- Presler did not respond to a request for comment from Axios.
Axios obtained an affidavit in which Trevor Jeffers, the East Pennsboro, Pa., police officer who made the initial arrest, testified that Igbojekwe was sitting in a parked car in a residential neighborhood "wearing nothing but a shirt" with his "genitals ... exposed."
- "Igbojekwe advised that he was in the neighborhood for work and that he was waiting to hand out flyers for Janelle Stelson's political campaign," Jeffers said in the affidavit, adding that Igbojekwe "was able to provide a stack of flyers showing he was there for work."
- The East Pennsboro Police did not provide a comment and denied Axios' public records request for documents related to the case.
- Several news outlets that covered the initial arrest or the DHS press release have since deleted their stories and posts. None responded to Axios' requests for comment.
- The Stelson campaign, asked about the affidavit, referred Axios to Baker's statement on Wednesday saying Igbojekwe had "never been employed" by them and that they had "never heard of him prior to the news of his arrest."
Zoom in: Igbojekwe was charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct, later pleading guilty to a single count of disorderly conduct, according to court records.
- The attorney listed as his representative in court documents, Cumberland County first assistant public defender Arla Waller, did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment.
- Igbojekwe did not respond to a request for comment sent to an email address listed under his name.
The latest: The Office of Special Counsel "will open a file" in response to questions about whether Wall violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits mixing federal government work with political campaigning, according to emails shared with Axios.
- Donald Sherman, the executive director of ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, wrote in an email to OSC that Wall's statement was "gratuitous partisanship that constitutes prohibited political activity."
- An OSC staffer replied to Sherman: "We received your complaint and will open a file to address this matter."
- An OSC spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the emails but declined to comment further. Wall did not respond to a request for comment.
What they're saying: Deborah Fleischaker, a former acting ICE chief of staff under the Biden administration, told Axios that legal counsel at the agency during her tenure "almost certainly would have recommended not to say something like" what Wall did in his statement.
- Directly referencing an election in an official statement "really is seen as a no no," she told Axios.
- Fleischaker acknowledged that federal ethics rules aren't the deterrent they used to be.
The bottom line: Cook Political Report rates the race between Stelson and Perry for the Harrisburg-based House seat as a toss-up.
- The Freedom Caucus Fund, a hybrid PAC dedicated to electing and supporting House Freedom Caucus members, released a digital ad on Thursday calling Igbojekwe a "Nigerian illegal alien campaigning for Democrat Janelle Stelson."