Exclusive: The Diego Morales interview

The embattled Republican Secretary of State candidate confronts his military record controversy—and more.

MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EMAIL: Diego Morales, Mitch Daniels, Joe Donnelly, Destiny Wells, Jeff Maurer.

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Courtesy of Morales campaign.

Controversy seems to stalk Diego Morales. The Republican candidate for Secretary of State and ex-aide to former Gov. Mike Pence has faced questions about his resume dating back to his 4th Congressional District bid in 2018.

That’s when the Associated Press reported his credentials included “embellishments, a spotty work history, and murky business dealings.”

This summer, he has dealt with a never-ending litany of headlines focused on almost everything but his policies: his purchase of a $43,845 campaign car (a Toyota Rav4), questions about being twice fired from the state office he wants to oversee, and for calling the 2020 elections a “scam.” All of these kerfuffles and hiccups are thrown into sharp relief by his decision recently to forego a debate with Democratic candidate Destiny Wells and Libertarian Jeff Maurer.

Now, Morales is confronting questions about his military service, an aspect of his background around which he has centered his bid to be the state’s chief election officer. He wears a U.S. Army Veteran hat, and has said he was “willing to put his life on the line to protect his country and his Indiana home.” Last week, as the Indianapolis Star’s columnist James Briggs published a scathing column questioning Morales’ military service, I was working on a similar story, chasing down documents that his campaign had promised days earlier. On Tuesday, the campaign had said they needed more time to address my questions and obtain the requested documents, and so, wanting to get the full picture of his service, I waited. Now that I have those documents, I asked Morales to explain them.

In this wide-ranging interview, Morales talks with IMPORTANTVILLE exclusively about his controversial past, whether he regrets his interview with now-indicted Steve Bannon and his new campaign car purchase.

The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.