Tea Party congressman owes ex-wife, kids over $100,000

A Tea Party Congressman from Chicago's northwest suburbs, who says he "won't place one more dollar of debt upon the backs of my kids" owes those same children and his ex-wife more than $100,000, according to documents filed in his divorce case in December.

Rep. Joe Walsh, a freshman from Fox Lake, now makes $175,000 per year, but throughout the past several has allegedly claimed he was living in poverty, political reporter Abdon Pallash reported in a lengthy Chicago Sun-Times exposé.

Court documents uncovered by the publication show that Laura Walsh was surprised to read in congressional campaign disclosures that he was able to afford a $35,000 loan to his campaign.

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Walsh on Thursday responded to the reports in a statement covered by NBC station WMAQ, saying he realizes "as a sitting member of Congress that the scrutiny of my personal life will be intense."

"Let me say this," he said. "I love all the members of my family past and present. I’ve always given everything I have to meet my financial obligations to my children and I will fight until my last breath against anyone who says otherwise."

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Walsh's attorney said the six-figure claim was "unfounded," according to the report, adding that his client has been trying to work with his ex-wife's legal team to work out a settlement.

"My children are truly the treasure of my life, which is why I’ve been trying to resolve this issue since January in a court of law, rather than drag my children into it," Walsh said in a statement. "That is the appropriate venue and I will not discuss this private family issue in public".

Walsh's win last November was called "the upset of 2010," and he ultimately beat incumbent Melissa Bean by roughly 300 votes.