Bachmann Won't Pay Her Campaign Workers: Ex-Aide

A former official in Michele Bachmann's campaign is accusing her of withholding thousands of dollars in pay to Iowa staffers who refuse to sign a non-disclosure agreement, Salon reports. Peter Waldron posted his allegations yesterday on Christian Newswire, saying Bachmann has more than $2 million left over from the campaign but won't pay out a mere $5,000. "It is sobering to think that a Christian member of Congress would betray her testimony to the Lord and the public by withholding earned wages from deserving staff," he wrote.

Waldron says it all boils down to an email list the campaign allegedly stole from a home-schooling group. Staffers don't want to sign a non-disclosure agreement because a criminal investigation is pending. "They wanted us to have no further conversation [with police] without first notifying Michele’s attorneys, and we just refused," he says. "We've been lied to at every turn." But Bachmann Finance Chairman James Pollack calls the allegations "false and innacurate," saying the campaign is "in the process of resolving" two "recently submitted" invoices from Iowa consultants. (More Michele Bachmann 2012 stories.)