Yesterday afternoon reports came in about a robocall attacking Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham. The call was anonymous, with no message indicating who was behind it or who financed it. Last night TBD posted the audio of the call, which features a woman’s voice telling the listener that Jim Graham paid for an abortion for his chief of staff’s girlfriend. The narrator then goes on to describe Graham as “immoral” and “wretched.”

The Graham campaign has contacted the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to Graham spokesperson Chuck Thies, the call likely violated federal law which requires automated calls to identify their source and purpose.

Both of Jim Graham’s Democratic challengers have denied any involvement with the call. Bryan Weaver said via email “[n]either my campaign, nor anyone affiliated with my campaign had anything to do with these phone calls. I find them as disgusting as everyone else and its unfortunate that whoever is doing this couldn’t just let the race be run and won on the issues.” Jeff Smith also stated his campaign had nothing to do with the call.

Marc Morgan, the Republican candidate for the Ward 1 seat, stated “we had absolutely nothing to do with it.” Morgan acknowledged that the very pro-life content of the call could cause people to point fingers at the GOP candidate. “Whoever was behind it should own up to it and apologize,” said Morgan. Morgan says his campaign is dedicated to “covering the issues” and that they are not interested in delving into negativity.