The ex-wife of Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock (GA), who is locked in a runoff battle with Republican Herschel Walker for his U.S. Senate seat, asked the court to bring the senator in for questions in their child custody battle, according to a report.
According to a court notice last week, Warnock’s ex-wife, Oulèye Ndoye, asked the court to have the senator come in to face questions from her attorneys concerning their contentious child custody battle, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The report noted that the court filing is the first movement on the case since August — when the judge filed a sealed temporary custody order — and that the new filing shows the two custody battles appear not to have been resolved. The filing reportedly showed that Ndoye accused him of neglecting to see his children during the days he had custody and not paying childcare expenses.
The court allows Ndoye’s lawyers to probe the senator over multiple issues under oath in a closed-door deposition, which could eventually be used for a settlement or if the case ends up going to trial. The lawyers reportedly notified Warnock that they plan to question him next year on January 18, which is days after the Senate is scheduled to open the next session of the U.S. Senate — if he is reelected in the December runoff battle.
The Free Beacon explained:
Warnock’s rocky divorce and custody fight have been issues for him in the election. Allegations of neglect were highlighted in Republican political attacks, and Republican challenger Herschel Walker ran ads featuring police footage of Ndoye accusing Warnock of hitting her with his Tesla, a claim the senator denied.
The latest filing could revive attention on the messy legal dispute ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff. Warnock in June asked a judge to seal the full case, arguing that because he is “currently running for reelection” his opponent could use the case to “gain some political advantage,” according to a court motion obtained by the Free Beacon.
Ndoye in February took Warnock to court to revise their custody agreement, asking to move their 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.
After Warnock and Walker both failed to reach 50 percent of the vote on election night, Georgia’s secretary of state’s office announced that there would be a runoff election on December 6, roughly one month after the midterm election.
“While county officials are still doing the detailed work on counting the votes, we feel it is safe to say there will be a runoff,” Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, wrote on social media early Wednesday morning after Election Day.
While county officials are still doing the detailed work on counting the votes, we feel it is safe to say there will be a runoff for the US Senate here in Georgia slated for December 6. #gapol pic.twitter.com/uwMF2EoDzO
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) November 9, 2022
