October 18, 2024

Fox News Baltimore

(WBFF) — Maryland’s Democratic leaders are demanding answers from Republican U.S. Senate candidate nominee and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan regarding allegations that he voted to approve millions in housing awards for his own real-estate firm’s clients while serving as governor through the state’s Board of Public Works contract approval process.

On Thursday, October 17, a week since the Time released a report outlining how Hogan allegedly abused his power as governor to benefit his own real-estate clients, Maryland Democrats held a press conference to ask for clarification on Hogan’s business dealings after the Republican candidate refused to give an explanation for the evidence found in the report.

During FOX45’s U.S. Senate Candidate Forum, Hogan claimed “there’s absolutely nothing to any of it” and called the article “complete nonsense.”

“There’s no truth to the story, and it’s completely made up,” said Hogan. “The information is all false.”

U.S. Sen. Van Hollen questioned his response.

Sen. Van Hollen urged Hogan to be “fully transparent about his business dealings” and pressed him to answer why Hogan didn’t recuse himself from votes that involved his clients while he served as governor and whether he will step away from approval processes if elected to the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin argued Hogan’s case is “fundamentally a question about public integrity.”

“Look, I think that in some sense the entire presidential election this year is about a very similar question: Are we going to have a government which is an instrument of the public interest and the common good for everyone, or, as in the case of Donald Trump, are we going to have a government which is an instrument of private self-enrichment for the guy that gets in and his family?” questioned Raskin.

State Sen., Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat from Montgomery County, continued to press Hogan for answers.

“Why haven’t you given us any explanation?” she said. “Maryland’s laws require and demand transparency. We need accountability. We need explanations for what has happened in the past.”

The leaders also questioned Hogan on whether he would fully divest himself from his company if chosen to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.