Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired never-before-seen bodycam footage Tuesday night of a disturbing incident in March that involved Georgia’s Democratic Senate nominee Rev. Raphael Warnock, then-wife Ouleye Ndoye, and a police officer who was called to the scene.
The video, taken roughly two months after he had declared his U.S. Senate candidacy, shows Warnock and Ndoye giving their differing versions of events as to what allegedly happened on March 2nd between the two of them.
Ndoye, who the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported “is considered a member of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ executive team,” alleged Warnock had run over her foot as she was trying to talk to him about what Ndoye said involved a disagreement over allowing her to take their two young children on an overseas trip for a family funeral.
The children were said to be present at the time of the argument.
Warnock claims that once he got in the car, he moved it forward slowly. When asked by the officer if he ran over Ndoye’s foot, Warnock states, “I do not think so”:
Warnock tells the officer they had an argument that morning over divorce papers while their two kids were present. He says that his wife prevented him from closing the car door by standing in front it.”I don’t want to get into a shoving match with her. So I go back around, get back in the car, and I slowly start to move, like I’m gonna move forward. Then she claims I ran over her foot,” Warnock tells the officer.
Then we hear what Ndoye had to say about what allegedly happened:
“He’s like, ‘Ouleye, close the door. I’m leaving,’” his wife tells the officer while crying. “And I was like, ‘just hear me out. If your mom died, and I had the kids. Wouldn’t you want me to let them go with you to the funeral? And he just starts backing the car up. He wasn’t going fast, I’m not bleeding. But I just can’t believe he’d run me over.”Asked whether she thought it was intentional, she says, “Obviously. I was standing here. The door was open and I’m leaning into the car. How can you drive the car when I’m leaning into it?”[…]”This man’s running for United States Senate, and all he cares about right now is his reputation,” she tells the officer. “I’ve been very quiet about the way that he is for the sake of my kids and his reputation.”She adds: “I’ve tried to keep the way that he acts under wraps for a long time, and today he crossed the line. So that is what is going on here. And he’s a great actor. He is phenomenal at putting on a really good show.”
Watch:
First-responders who were at the scene noted they were “not able to locate any swelling, redness, or bruising or broken bones” on Ndoye. A report was filed, but no charges were brought against Warnock.
This is a disturbing clip, to say the least, but it’s also one of those things people have to watch and decide for themselves as to who they believe. The two were in the middle of a divorce at the time (finalized in May), and these things can get heated and ugly.
While this video raises more questions about what was alleged to have happened between them in that March dispute, one of my first thoughts after watching it was, why are Georgians only just now seeing this footage? The AJC was the major Georgia media outlet that covered the story when it first broke in March. Still, up until yesterday, no one outside of (presumably) law enforcement and lawyers had seen it.
Would a known video of a domestic incident involving a Republican candidate, their spouse, and the police be kept out of the public eye for months as he or she ran for public office? Not likely. Now that Fox News has aired it, will other networks follow? Don’t hold your breath:
Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who Warnock will face in one of the two Georgia Senate runoffs that will be held on January 5th, told the AJC in a statement that “Domestic abuse is a very serious issue, and this new body cam footage is certainly difficult to watch. Georgians deserve answers to these very serious allegations, and his ex-wife’s voice deserves to be heard.”
In turn, Warnock’s campaign accused Loeffler of using the newly-surfaced video to “stoop to new lows” by “attacking his family.”
As we reported Monday, Loeffler’s strategy of holding Warnock to account for his past radical remarks and sermons appears to be paying off. The most recent poll Trafalgar Group – one of the more reliable pollsters out there – shows Loeffler has carved out a nearly 7-point lead over Warnock, which is well outside the 2.9% margin of error.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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