WARRENTON, Va. - Political drama has erupted in Warrenton, Virginia, after a local businessman publicly offered thousands of dollars in charitable donations to two mayoral candidates on the condition that they withdraw from the race.
What we know:
According to a report by Fauquier Now, businessman Jawad Sarsour posted a video online Monday offering $5,000 in charitable donations to candidates Renard Carlos and Darine Barbour if both agreed to drop out of the mayoral race by Friday.
Sarsour is a vocal supporter of a third candidate in the race, Town Council Member David McGuire.
In the recorded video, Sarsour laid out his proposal: "You tell me the charity, I’ll write a $5,000 check, you give that to your charity if you both step out of the race this Friday. Think about it, let me know, this Friday's the deadline."
The video appears to have been deleted, and Sarsour did not respond to FOX 5’s requests for comment.
Candidates respond
What they're saying:
Both of the involved candidates swiftly and publicly rejected the offer on their Facebook pages.
Renard Carlos condemned the proposition, saying it "is corrosive to the democratic process. It undermines the public trust, this conduct should be denounced...We are not going anywhere, I’m going to stay in this race."
Darine Barbour firmly declined the offer as well, saying, "No amount of money will make me compromise my morals, values, or ethics, so to that point I am in this race until November 3rd."
In an email, Barbour added that she found it upsetting that many people online seemed to treat the proposal as a joke.
Responding to the criticism in a lengthy Facebook post, Sarsour wrote in part: "I take these elections seriously. This isn’t politics to me. It’s home. To everyone who stood by me: I see you, I won’t forget it, and I’ll be praying for you and your families. To those who don't support me: I understand, and I respect it. This county is yours as much as it is mine, and I hope we can still shake hands on Main Street."
Legal concerns
The incident raises legal questions regarding campaign finance and bribery regulations under Virginia law.
Georgetown Law Professor Mushtaq Gunja noted that while Virginia maintains strict laws against bribery and campaign finance violations, criminal prosecution in this case remains uncertain.
Gunja also pointed out that the public nature of the video, which was posted openly on Facebook, might oddly work in Sarsour's favor legally. Because both candidates quickly rejected the offer, prosecutors may decide that no actual harm occurred, making criminal charges unlikely.
The candidate Sarsour supports, Council Member David McGuire, did not respond to email requests for comment. However, McGuire told Fauquier Now that he was unaware of the video beforehand and asked Sarsour to take it down.
The Fauquier Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The Source: Information in this article is from Faquier Now and original FOX 5 DC reporting.