democrats
Move would allow lawyers to spy on Warnock over unpaid child care expenses
Senator Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.)/Getty Images
Alana Goodman • Nov 15, 2022 4:59 am
The ex-wife of Democratic Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock asked a court to bring Warnock to trial in her contentious custody battle to answer questions from her attorneys, according to a court filing last week and available to the Washington Free Beacon .
The filing is the first sign of movement in the case since the judge issued a sealed preliminary warrant in August and shows the dispute has not been resolved out of court. Warnock’s ex-wife, Oulèye Ndoye, has accused him in court of failing to see his children while he was in custody, leaving them financially strapped with unpaid childcare costs.
The deposit will allow Ndoye’s lawyers to question Warnock under oath about these issues in a behind-closed-doors deposit, information that could be used as part of a settlement or if the case goes to court. Ndoye’s attorneys told Warnock they plan to question him on Jan. 18, 2023 — just days after the Senate is scheduled to open for the next session.
Warnock’s rocky divorce and custody battles were issues for him in the election. Allegations of neglect were highlighted in Republican political attacks, and Republican challenger Herschel Walker ran ads showing police footage of Ndoye accusing Warnock of hitting her with his Tesla, a claim the senator denied.
The latest filing could draw attention to the messy legal battle ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff. Warnock asked a judge to seal the entire case in June, arguing that his opponent could use the case to “gain political advantage” as he is “currently running for re-election,” according to a Free court filing Beacon is called.
Ndoye took Warnock to court in February to overhaul her custody agreement, asking to bring her two young children to Massachusetts while she attends a program at Harvard and for more financial support from Warnock. The couple split in 2020 after four years of marriage.
Ndoye said in her first complaint that Warnock’s income had “increased significantly” since he joined the Senate, but that he “refused to reimburse the costs [her] for childcare costs” and “links [her] financially strapped.” She also claimed Warnock left her two children with “different babysitters” overnight while they were in his care.
Her statement of Warnock’s income is supported by financial disclosure records reviewed by the Free Beacon, which show his earnings have more than doubled since he entered the Senate in 2021, largely due to payments from outside employers and bookstores.
Warnock’s outside pay includes a $7,400 per month housing allowance from Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he serves as CEO and senior pastor. The housing benefit is not subject to income tax, the Free Beacon first reported. The unusual arrangement also allows Warnock to circumvent the annual outside income limit for senators under federal law.
Both Warnock and Ndoye have traded jabs in the custody case. In the spring, Warnock attempted to subpoena Ndoye’s college records from a decade ago, a move Ndoye said was “solely intended to embarrass and harass her,” the Free Beacon reported. Fulton Superior Court Justice Shermela Williams, who was a registered Democrat before winning her seat in a 2020 bipartisan court election, banned the public from attending a hearing in June, Free Beacon reported.
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