Rob Curnock, Republican candidate for Congress in District 17, today issued the following statement concerning a letter received from a former campaign worker:

“Our campaign has received a letter from a former campaign worker, from our 2008 campaign, demanding payment of money and threatening to approach the media during early voting in the primary election. The claim for payment of money is completely without merit. We were very diligent in paying every expense from our 2008 campaign, including several unexpected charges that came in after the election. I personally paid those, which is why we have a reported debt of approximately $10,000, to me.

“This is the first we’ve heard of this demand for money. The timing of this claim, and the suggestion that paying these unwarranted amounts can resolve things ‘quickly and quietly,’ sure seems like extortion, so we have turned all information on this issue over to the proper authorities.

“It is clear the intent is to capitalize monetarily by threatening to damage our 2010 campaign and distract voters from the real substantive issues before us. I am committed to finishing the job in 2010 and representing the common-sense conservative values of Central Texans as a member of Congress. We remain focused on reducing taxes to help spur job growth, limiting the power and scope of the federal government, and restoring our key Constitutional liberties.”

Update: For more on this, use the link below to open the video player from KWTX.com, who covered this story Wednesday Feb. 24 (player will open in a new window).