Ohio Republican candidate's ex-intern says adult site post was a 'prank'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Fri 15 Mar 2024 11.29 EDT


A former intern to Bernie Moreno, Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate for US Senate in Ohio and a hardline opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, said he wrote as an “aborted prank” a post on the Adult Friend Finder website in which Moreno appeared to look for “young guys to have fun with” and “men for 1-on-1 sex”.

“I am thoroughly embarrassed by an aborted prank I pulled on my friend, and former boss, Bernie Moreno, nearly two decades ago” in late 2008, the former intern, Dan Ricci, said in a statement provided to the Associated Press by Moreno’s lawyer. Moreno, 57, was born in Colombia, came to the US and made his fortune dealing cars. He is now in a three-way fight for the right to take on the incumbent Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, at the polls in November.

The seat is seen as a crucial battleground in the fight for the US Senate with Democrats desperate to defend Brown and Republicans believing they can beat him in a state that has turned red in recent elections – a result that would greatly aid them in winning control of the chamber.

The Republican primary takes place on Tuesday. Polling shows a tight race, Moreno in second behind Matt Dolan, a state senator, and ahead of Frank LaRose, the Ohio secretary of state. Brown leads all three but is seen as vulnerable as Republicans seek to take back the Senate, which Democrats hold 51-49.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/15/bernie-moreno-adult-website

[Diamond_Dog]

1. I'm not saying Moreno did this

But I’m having a hard time accepting this excuse. In what world does a mere intern get away with a “prank” on the boss like this? Wouldn’t that call for immediate firing of the intern?

My feeling is that it’s more likely some underling who had a beef with Moreno over something was doing this to get back at him. Moreno wasn’t known for being very fair about paying his employees overtime. Or maybe it was an employee who felt harassed some way.

Since Moreno has been endorsed by Trump, this doesn’t surprise me in the least.

[Mysterian]

2. Hahahahaha!

Paying a former intern to take credit for an internet post seeking gay sex is priceless! Just how dumb are Ohio voters?

[sdfernando]

11. I'll even bet that

Moreno has a "wide stance"

[AllaN01Bear]

3. love it when the Ts backstroke .full astern.

[Probatim]

4. When you're explaining, you're losing - forget which republican said that, but it fits here.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. indeed.

[RandySF]

6. I call BS on the intern.

The AP traced the creation of the account to Ft. Lauderdale where Moreno’s parents lived at the time.

[CincyDem]

7. I'm gonna be the contrarian here...and that's NOT intended to be supportive of Moreno or and Rethug.

16 years ago:

Moreno was a 41 year old guy who owned a couple/three used car lots.
Dan Ricci was a mid-20 something working a used car lot.
16 years is a long time in the progress of LBGTQ+ acceptance. Not done yet but far ahead of 2008.

When you ask "who would pull such a prank on their boss"...I respectfully submit that a used car lot is almost as euphemistically much of a frat house mentality as...well...a frat house. Combine this with the common sense and brain power of a mid-20's guy with time on his hands during the day...well...this is the kinda chit that happens.

If you said this was a bank or a fortune 500 company or an educational institution...sure...this story is likely bullchit. But there's a reason why "used car salesman" has a particular stereotype and I can see a bunch of dopes hanging in the sales lot 15 years ago pranking their boss with something like this.

IMHO.

[moreland01]

14. Disagree

I think they paid this guy to say that he did it. I've been "pranked" by an ex-boyfriend, who was also in his 20s at the time. He posted my phone number on a fetish website and I had all kinds of people with fetishes calling me. He said he was "just joking", but really he was being a creepy stalker with a fetish of his own.

I 100% believe that Moreno is into young men. Not a doubt in my mind. The more vehemently someone is anti-gay, the gayer they are. And this guy is a classic case. If he just comes out of the closet, he won't have to pay this former intern to lie.

[yellowcanine]

8. A prank, you say?

[kimbutgar]

9. Then maybe Moreno should sue this intern for damages!

[Indykatie]

10. They Traced the Post To the City Where Moreno's Parents Live in Florida

Does this intern also have ties to the city or has he claimed to have visited that city? Why would he have access to Moreno's government computer away from the office. I think the intern is just trying to provide Moreno with an alibi.

[NonPC]

12. I'll Pick "Take The Blame For $100,000"

Yeah, the Florida IP address is an inconvenient detail. At least we now know that he's totally in the same camp as Gym Jordan.

[LudwigPastorius]

13. I've heard of falling on your sword to protect someone, but....

not falling on a lubed sex toy for them.

[prodigitalson]

15. see, this is why everyone needs their search history sent Mike Johnson's son