NASHVILLE – A Tennessee native who led President-elect Donald Trump’s vice presidential vetting and helped check potential Cabinet nominees’ backgrounds says allegations that U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s business dealings got in the way of him being picked for any position are “baseless.”
In a statement, attorney A.B. Culvahouse said, “We were aware that these allegations were being peddled, but after a thorough review, found them to be baseless and concluded that nothing in Senator Corker’s background or business dealings would have in any way prevented him from serving as Vice President or as a Cabinet official, including Secretary of State.”
The Daily Caller, an online conservative news site, last month reported obtaining “internal documents” provided by what was described as a “Trump confidant” that “reveal that insider trading allegations hurt Corker’s chances for being picked” for Trump’s administration.
In a statement to the Times Free Press, Corker’s office blamed billionaire hedge fund operators it said were attacking the senator over his push to reform federally sponsored mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The statement said “there are absolutely no investigations underway” of the senator.
The Daily Caller account also reported two unnamed sources “close to the Trump transition process” said Corker’s short stature “was a trait the president-elect did not want in his top diplomat.”