Ahead of Debate, Leaked Texts Raise New Questions About Lahn’s Role in Covering Up Running Mate’s Shady Loan

Ahead of Debate, Leaked Texts Raise New Questions About Lahn's Role in Covering Up Running Mate's Shady Loan

Ahead of tonight's debate, new reporting from Iowa Starting Line - including leaked text messages among Republican activists - raises new questions about Zach Lahn's role in helping cover up and lie about his running mate's shady loan, with the report stating: "Lahn's campaign was warned about Derek Wulf's debts on day one."

According to the leaked messages, "a conservative Iowa political operative warned Lahn's campaign field director that Wulf faced lawsuits". The campaign was also "still internally discussing the possibilities for Lahn's second-in-command, after Wulf was already selected."

Even former Congressman Steve King was concerned about Lahn's choice, who allegedly texted one operative, "This makes me sick to my stomach. … The $500K+ is still outstanding. Next bail out may be bail money."

The reporting also says Lahn's campaign told people when discussing Wulf's debt that "This is now on the right path forward," which raises questions about what role Lahn played behind the mystery LLC that was created for the sole purpose of paying off Wulf's debt, which the Des Moines Register recently exposed.

"These leaked texts show discord among Iowa Republicans and that Zach Lahn was way more involved in this scandal than previously known," said DGA Communications Director Sam Newton. "During tonight's debate, Zach Lahn needs to explain what he knew and when about Derrick Wulf's shady loan and who is behind the secret LLC that was set up to help him."

Iowa Starting Line: Texts show Lahn's campaign was warned about Derek Wulf's debts on day one

• On the day Iowa Republican governor candidate Zach Lahn announced Derek Wulf as his lieutenant governor pick, a conservative Iowa political operative warned Lahn's campaign field director that Wulf faced lawsuits from his main lender, which was seeking to foreclose on his home and farm, and from two agricultural suppliers, text messages obtained by Iowa Starting Line show.

• That Friday, June 12, Kurtis Bower, the operative, told the campaign's field director Elijah Bluhm that Wulf's finances were dire.

• "He is in really bad trouble, and I'm very concerned," Bower wrote.

• The next day, the Republican Party of Iowa met for convention and named Wulf the party's nominee for lieutenant governor. But based on Bower's text message with Bluhm, the campaign was still internally discussing the possibilities for Lahn's second-in-command, after Wulf was already selected.

• On June 15, Bower asked, "Is Bobby Kaufmann a possibility for LG?"

• "Yes he is," Bluhm responded. Kaufmann is the Iowa House Majority Leader and son of Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann.
• Former US Rep. Steve King also texted about wanting Wulf replaced. He texted Bower, "This makes me sick to my stomach. … The $500K+ is still outstanding. Next bail out may be bail money."

• The texts show Republicans raised concerns about Wulf on the day he was picked. Court filings and a court-appointed receiver's report show a more complicated picture than the campaign described.

• On July 16, campaign manager Paul Cordes told the Register that "all of the debts to creditors have been paid in full." Court records show otherwise. That same day, Wulf's attorney signed a conditional consent to a receiver in the WCF case. A receiver is a neutral party appointed by a judge to take charge of a borrower's property, in this case Wulf's farm and livestock, while a lender's claim is sorted out. New Century was paid July 20 and Heartland's judgment was satisfied July 23, court documents show.

• Wulf received a $540,000 loan from University Relocation LLC, a company based in Moline, Illinois, the Register first reported. The lender has not been named. Davenport attorney Richard Davidson formed the company June 26, two weeks after Lahn picked Wulf, and told the Register it acted for "a single, Iowa-based private lender" who wants to stay anonymous and offered "market rate."

• Wulf's in-laws signed a mortgage to secure it July 13. He paid off Four County, Heartland, and a roughly $139,000 debt to New Century FS soon after, according to filings from their attorneys. He has not paid WCF, which won appointment of a receiver Sept. 1.

• Without knowing the source of the loan, it is unknown whether the loan was legal for Wulf to accept. State law bars statewide candidates from taking loans from lobbyists unless the loan is part of their normal business. Asked whether the lender is a lobbyist, Davidson said: "I don't have the faintest idea."

• The receiver also could not locate 10 items of equipment listed on the sheet, including feeding stations, a generator, and an ultrasound machine. The report does not allege that anything was taken.

• The report says ownership of some cattle and calves among Wulf and two other people is "disputed or uncertain," and that animal counts are approximate.

• Lahn told KCCI that nobody would "lose a dime." The bank that holds the loan on Wulf's farm hasn't been paid in full, and a court has put his cattle under a receiver's control.

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