RALEIGH, N.C. — The US Army Reserve is opening an investigation into Democratic US Senate nominee and former lieutenant colonel Cal Cunningham, a US Army Reserve spokesperson confirmed with WFMY News 2.
Cunningham is a bronze star veteran. He joined the Army National Reserve after the September 11 attacks and became a lieutenant colonel who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Saturday, Cunningham admitted to and apologized for extra-marital romantic text messages that he exchanged with strategist Arlene Guzman Todd.
Army Reserve spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simon Flake released a statement to WFMY News 2, reading, "The Army Reserve is investigating the matters involving Lt. Col. James Cunningham. As such, we are unable to provide further details at this time."
The Cunningham Campaign responded, saying, "Cal will participate in this process, but it does not change the stakes of this election or the need for new leaders who will fight for the issues North Carolinians care about instead of caving to the corporate special interests – which is exactly what Senator Tillis has done in his years in Washington."
Adultery violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but it's unclear if the claims against Cunningham would meet the threshold for potential punishment.
This investigation comes after the Associated Press reported it received additional text messages between Guzman Todd and her friend as they discussed the alleged affair.
Guzman Todd claimed she and Cunningham were intimate in July and said she had photos of him that could harm his campaign.
The AP interviewed Guzman Todd and reported that she validated the messages and claimed the relationship spanned several months.
The new allegations came days after Cunningham confirmed the other romantic texts between him and Guzman Todd.
Cunningham has not confirmed the latest series of texts that allege the in-person encounter.
Meanwhile, Senator Thom Tillis is calling on Cunningham to speak publicly about the matter.
Tillis tweeted, "Cal Cunningham has said, in North Carolina, the truth still matters. I agree, he owes North Carolinians a full explanation."
Cunningham's campaign responded, saying, "Senator Tillis and his allies are trying to exploit a personal matter and ignoring a family's request for privacy to make desperate attacks in hopes they can distract from Senator Tillis' record."
Since the latest AP report, we've reached out to the Cunningham campaign for an updated response. We haven't heard back as of this report.
His campaign spokesperson said Cunningham is staying in the race.