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Report: Walsh Owes Six Figures of Child Support

Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) owes more than $100,000 in child support, according to court documents filed by his ex-wife and analyzed by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Walsh frequently rails against government spending and President Barack Obama’s fiscal management on cable news shows. But while he has criticized the federal debt, his former wife alleges he’s also in the hole with her and their three children.

In court documents filed in December, Laura Walsh alleges her ex-husband owes her $117,437 for taking care of their three children, the newspaper reported. Rep. Walsh’s attorney denied the claim and called it “unfounded” in an interview with the paper.

Attorneys for both sides say the other one has been stalling a meeting to figure out a settlement.

The Sun-Times also reported court documents show Laura Walsh asked the judge to suspend the Congressman’s driver’s license until he paid up, to which Rep. Walsh replied: “Have you no decency?”

Court records also show Rep. Walsh did not want to pay for certain expenses for his children, such as summer camp or a homecoming suit, per the newspaper.

Walsh is no stranger to money problems in his personal life, including losing his home to foreclosure. A former campaign aide sued him for what he alleged was unpaid salary.

The paper reported that Walsh drifted between jobs before he came to Congress — or at least that’s reason that he gave his ex-wife for not making his payments. But after Laura Walsh saw her ex-husband loaned his campaign $35,000, she thought otherwise.

Walsh won his seat in an upset last November, defeating Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) by fewer than 300 votes in the exurban northwest Chicago district.

The child support battle has endured for nine years since Joe and Laura Walsh divorced in 2002. He has since remarried.

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