The David Johnson saga, cont’d | Dylan Byers on Media – POLITICO.com

David Johnson, the self-described pollster and political consultant, has been the subject of much controversy over the course of his career. In 2009, his Atlanta-based polling firm was accused of fraud. Last week, he was caught lying to a reporter about his knowledge of a New York City mayoral candidate’s internal polling.

Here’s something else to add to the list: In the official bio on his firm’s website, Johnson claims to have “worked with the Bob Dole Presidential Campaign.” In fact, it’s the only specific political experience he mentions alongside having “overseen numerous state and local races throughout the country.”

But here’s the catch: He’s not referring to Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign, when he won the Republican nomination. He’s referring to Dole’s 1988 presidential campaign, when he was trounced by George H. W. Bush in the primaries, winning just five states. But Johnson doesn’t specify that, which no doubt leads clients to think he’s referring to the ’96 campaign.

Scott Reed, who managed Dole’s ’96 campaign, told POLITICO he had never heard of Johnson. Roger Stone, a volunteer spokesperson for the ’96 bid, said the same: “I was on that campaign. I never heard of him.”

Reached by phone, Johnson told POLITICO, “It was 1988… I never say in my bio it was 1996.” Asked what he did for the ’88 campaign, Johnson said, “advance work… it was right out of college.”

“I have copies of cancelled checks if you need me to prove it,” he said.

via The David Johnson saga, cont’d | Dylan Byers on Media – POLITICO.com