When asked by Fox News’s Sean Hannity about the reported $700 check, Walker, who has voiced opposition to abortion rights, said he frequently gives money to others. “I send money to a lot of people,” Walker said. “I believe in being generous.”
The Washington Post has not independently verified the reporting in the Daily Beast. Walker did not respond to a text message from The Post seeking comment.
The Republican Senate candidate issued a written statement posted on Twitter referencing the Daily Beast story. “I deny this in the strongest possible terms,” he said. In that statement, Walker also said he planned to “sue the Daily Beast.”
Walker is challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael G. Warnock in one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the year. The outcome of race, which polls show is competitive, is expected to help determine which party controls the Senate for the next two years.
Shortly after the Daily Beast story published, one of Walker’s children turned to social media to criticize his father, accusing Walker of lying and saying that the former football star threatened him and his mother with violence that forced them to move multiple times.
“I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us,” wrote Christian Walker.
Christian Walker has offered support for his father in the past, tweeting a video last December in which he hugged his father. “Had the honor of introducing my dad, @HerschelWalker, last night at Mar a Lago,” Christian Walker wrote. The younger Walker has also used his Twitter account to promote conservative ideas.
On Monday evening, Christian Walker alleged that his father “threatened to kill us” and caused him and his mother to move six times in six months “running from your violence.”
Christian Walker’s mother, Cindy Grossman, was married to Herschel Walker for nearly two decades and has recounted violent episodes in the past. Speaking to CNN, she detailed a time when he “held the gun to my temple and said he was gonna blow my brains out.”
Walker has faced criticism for false claims, as well as allegations of stalking and violent threats. He has said that he has battled dissociative identity disorder throughout his life.
Christian Walker also said that other family members discouraged his father from running for office “because we all knew (some of) his past.”
“He decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it. I’m done,” Christian Walker wrote. He did not immediately respond to an email or direct message seeking additional comment.
Asked for comment on Christian Walker’s postings, the Herschel Walker campaign pointed to a tweet from the candidate.
“I LOVE my son no matter what,” Herschel Walker wrote on Twitter shortly after his son’s messages posted.
Walker, 60, one of the most well-known figures in Georgia football history, won the Republican primary by a wide margin in May. He ran with former president Donald Trump’s endorsement and the name recognition of a national championship-winning Heisman Trophy winner.