The United States’ upcoming midterm elections have caught the public’s attention for several reasons, from a historic number of female nominees to the threat of Russian hackers interfering in American democracy.
However, House Republican candidate Melissa Howard has made headlines for an unexpected reason. She has been accused of lying about graduating from college and producing a fake diploma.
Howard is a Floridian businesswoman who is currently running for a seat in the House of Representatives. She was recently accused by conservative websites of being dishonest regarding her college education.
In an attempt to prove her accusers wrong, Howard posted a photograph on social media which featured her supposed diploma from Miami University in Ohio. She also posted a photo of her transcripts. Howard captioned the photos:
“It only took a night of flying back to my old stomping grounds to catch my opponent in yet another lie!”
However, the Herald-Tribune of Sarasota has reported that her claims are apparently false.
Miami University’s general counsel, Robin Parker, stated in an e-mail that Howard didn’t complete a bachelor of science degree in marketing. In fact, the university does not even offer a degree in marketing. Parker stated in his email:
Miami University’s degree for Marketing majors then, as it is now, was a Bachelor of Science in Business. The picture of the diploma that was posted on the HowardforHouse73 Facebook page does not appear to be an accurate Miami University diploma.”
Howard initially dismissed the reports, stating that they were false. The Herald-Tribune then took down its article.
After Parker’s statement proved that Howard was lying, the Herald re-posted the article.
Howard and her family were reportedly very concerned about the situation. Her husband Ian Howard had a “cardiac event” on Friday. He is currently hospitalized, and his wife has yet to release a follow-up statement to the Herald’s report.
Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons
