Here’s What You Need To Know About Cunningham’s Desperate Attempt To Defend His PPP Lies & Hypocrisy

July 28, 2020
For Immediate Release

RALEIGH, N.C. - This morning, Cal Cunningham desperately tried to defend himself from a devastating new TV ad highlighting his lies and hypocrisy when it comes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

Here is the truth about the ad, which independent fact-checkers and even liberal media outlets confirm is true. 

FACT: Cunningham Criticized The PPP

  • “Cunningham criticized the PPP to the extent that it wasn’t reaching enough companies and lacked adequate oversight” (WRAL’s Politifact, 7/17/20)

  • “For PPP loans to have ‘generally missed the industries and areas most heavily impacted by COVID-19’ is unacceptable,’ Cunningham tweeted at the time. ‘Leaving behind small businesses — and disproportionately those that are Black- and Latino-owned — harms communities. We need oversight.’ On his web site, he cited published reports that some companies that had received aid through the program continued to lay off workers.” (Charlotte Observer, 7/7/20)

  • “Cunningham has criticized the PPP program for ‘leaving behind small businesses – and disproportionately those that are Black and Latino-owned – harms communities. We need oversight.’” (WFAE, 7/10/20)

FACT: Cunningham’s Company, WasteZero, Got A PPP Loan Of Nearly $2 million 

  • “PPP records show that WasteZero applied for between $1 million and $2 million in loans and was approved for aid on May 3, potentially helping 115 employees.”  (WRAL’s Politifact, 7/17/20)

FACT: Cunningham Is Still Working For WasteZero

  • “Cunningham currently works for the company on a contract basis.”  (WRAL’s Politifact, 7/17/20)

FACT: Cunningham Has Changed His Story Multiple Times On Multiple Fronts When It Comes To WasteZero And The PPP

 

Cunningham Lied About His Employment At WasteZero

  • Cunningham’s campaign originally told the Charlotte Observer that he left the company on March 20th. (See screenshot below)

  • His spokeswoman also tweeted that he no longer worked at WasteZero.

  • But days later Cunningham himself said he’s still working for WasteZero, something WRAL’s Politifact and WFAE also noted.  

    • “I have been available to them, to do help with things since then, to transition to my successor the work that I had been doing. I was aware they were applying for a PPP loan, but I was not involved.’ #ncpol #NCSen” (Cal Cunningham, Twitter (Brian Murphy), 7/9/20)

    • “Cunningham is not a founder and the campaign says he has no ownership stake. He was on the payroll for seven years and now works for the firm on a contract basis.” (WRAL’s Politifact, 7/17/20)

    • “In an interview Thursday, Cunningham spokesperson Aaron Simpson said Cunningham can still work for the company on retainer. He said that Cunningham remained ‘available to advise Waste Zero on an hourly basis since he’s transitioning out’ but said Cunningham ‘wasn’t involved with the PPP loan process at all’ even though he was aware the company was going to apply for the loan.” (WFAE, 7/10/20)

 

Cunningham Lied About His Knowledge Of WasteZero's PPP Loan

  • First, Cunningham’s campaign told the Charlotte Observer that Cunningham had “no role in the loan application.” 

    • But Cunningham himself later told a reporter, “I was aware they were applying for a PPP loan.” (Cal Cunningham, Twitter (Brian Murphy), 7/9/20)

This ad is allowing the people of North Carolina to see who Cal Cunningham really is - a liar and a hypocrite who will do and say whatever his party leaders tell him to. As it soaks in with voters, they will understand they have no reason to trust Cunningham when he promises not to support an extreme liberal agenda in the Senate. 

 

 

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