Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise spoke at a white supremacist conference 12 years ago, a Louisiana blogger revealed. The now Majority Whip has been attempting to deflect the news since it came to light on Sunday; however, Louisiana Democrats and others continue to attack him.

Scalise's past became well-known after progressive Louisiana blogger Lamar White Jr. revealed it on his blog CenLamar.com. In his blog post White explains how he discovered Scalise's speech at a white supremacist conference called the National/International EURO Workshop on Civil Rights through the website Stormfront, a white supremacist site.

In his May 2002 speech, Scalise, then a Louisiana state representative, talked to the crowd about the state's Housing and Urban Development Fund.

"The meeting was productive locally as State Representative, Steve Scalise, discussed ways to oversee gross mismanagement of tax revenue or 'slush funds' that have little or no accountability," quoted White from the Stormfront post.

"Representative Scalise brought into sharp focus the dire circumstances pervasive in many important, under-funded needs of the community at the expense of graft within the Housing and Urban Development Fund, an apparent give-away to a selective group based on race."

The same person who authored the above comment two years later also wrote in support of Scalise's run for the U.S. House.

The organization that held this event, EURO, has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Known as the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, it was founded in 2000 by former Klansman and Republican representative David Duke.

Following the revelation of Scalise's past, his office has attempted to do damage control. According to Politico, Scalise's communications director, Moira Smith, said in a statement, "[Scalise] has spoken to hundreds of different groups with a broad range of viewpoints.

"In every case, he was building support for his policies, not the other way around. In 2002, he made himself available to anyone who wanted to hear his proposal to eliminate slush funds that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars as well as his opposition to a proposed tax increase on middle-class families," she said.

"He has never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question. The hate-fueled ignorance and intolerance that group projects is in stark contradiction to what Mr. Scalise believes and practices as a father, a husband and a devoted Catholic."

The embattled representative has also gathered support from Louisiana's Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal and the state's Republican Party, reports the Times-Picayune. However, Scalise did not make any statements until late on Monday.

Scalise gave an interview with the Times-Picayune in which he explained what happened 12 years ago. He explains he did not have the resources or manpower to vet the events he was attending and adds he does not remember speaking at the event.

"I didn't know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group. For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous," he said.

However, Democrats have begun to question whether or not Scalise should remain in his position as the third highest member of Congress, according to the Washington Post. Both Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-Va., have expressed concern.

Speaker John Boehner has not made a statement on the matter as of yet.

Back in 2004, Scalise was one of six state representatives to vote against making Martin Luther King Day Jr. a state holiday.