Yesterday, Adam Putnam made the scandal surrounding his family business even worse by lying to reporters and falsely blaming the Obama administration for the Bush Labor Department’s investigation into his family business.

At an event in Jacksonville, Putnam was asked about a recent Tampa Bay Times investigation that revealed his family had failed to pay workers the minimum wage — and even severely underpaid one mentally disabled employee. Putnam responded with a series of blatant lies about the investigation, calling it a politically motivated attack by “Obama regulators crawling around our lower intestine.” The truth? The investigations took place months before Obama was even inaugurated.

“Republicans have blamed President Obama for a lot things, but this is a new one. Adam Putnam is trying to blatantly cover up the illegal labor practices at his family business by lying to the people of Florida and blaming Obama,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Kevin Donohoe. “Putnam is nothing more than a career politician who is more comfortable lying to voters and attacking Barack Obama than being honest about his labor violations.”

For years, Putnam has been a partisan warrior more interested in advancing himself and scoring political points than doing anything for the people of Florida. During his ten years in Congress, Putnam developed a reputation as the Republican Party’s top “attack dog” who would “eke out political points at every opportunity.”

WJCT: In Jacksonville, Putnam Calls 2008 Back Wages Order A Result Of ‘Clerical Errors’

At a meet and greet campaign event in Jacksonville Wednesday, Putnam insinuated the investigation was a fishing expedition. “After three days of Obama regulators crawling around our lower intestine, they came up with a $250 fine, which was later dismissed,” he said. “People are a vital part of any operation and the men and women that I work shoulder-to-shoulder with in our business are the most important part of our business.” The investigation began in early 2008, a year before former President Barack Obama was inaugurated.

Tampa Bay Times: Protesters taunt Putnam; blames ‘Obama regulators’ for minimum wage violation

Public radio station WJCT reported that Putnam said his family’s Bartow citrus operation’s failure to pay the minimum wage to four workers in 2008 was a “clerical error,” and he said “Obama regulators” were responsible for the finding. The investigation began in January 2008, when George W. Bush was president of the United States.