Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has made Elizabeth Warren's claims to Native American ancestry a major message in his campaign for re-election.
Warren, who has cited evidence that she is 1/32 Native American, was listed as a minority during her time at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. Brown and his surrogates have raised the issue nearly every day for the past two weeks, calling for her to release personnel records, the Boston Globe reports.
Jim Barnett, Brown's campaign manager, told the Globe on Monday that the story raised questions about Warren's honesty, and whether she gained an advantage in hiring by claiming minority status.
“The question here is not about Elizabeth Warren’s credentials, so much as it is about Elizabeth Warren’s integrity and truthfulness and willingness to be transparent,’’ Barnett said.
Warren, who has said she will not release the records, called the issue a distraction.
Her campaign, meanwhile, has seized on the announcement that JPMorgan Chase lost $2 billion to cite her work as a champion for financial reform.
"I stood up to big banks. I took on their army of lobbyists and helped win the fight for a consumer protection agency. But there's still more to do," Warren says in a radio ad released Tuesday. "Wall Street isn't going to change its ways until Washington gets serious about strong oversight and real accountability. No special deals. We need a tough cop on the beat to make sure that nobody steals your purse on Main Street or your pension on Wall Street."
Brown has said he will not return $50,000 from donors affiliated with JPMorgan Chase.
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