re: LSU Law Students attempt to Ban Steve Scalise as Graduation Speaker

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On Dec. 29, Moira Bagley Smith, a spokeswoman for Scalise, initially told the Washington Post that Scalise likely attended the event, but she distanced the Republican lawmaker from the Duke group, calling them a "hate-fueled ignorance and intolerance." Scalise told the Times-Picayune in New Orleans that he attended many events around that time to rally opposition to a proposed state tax plan. While he didn’t admit he attended, he said, "I didn't know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group. For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous." Scalise said poor staffing in his state office resulted in a failure to vet the event. "I had one person that was working for me. When someone called and asked me to speak, I would go." On Dec. 30, Scalise said in a statement that he spoke to a group "whose views I wholeheartedly condemn," though he did not name the EURO.

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