Instead, it says that "top advisers" were "convinced the relationship had become romantic" and "intervened to protect the candidate from himself." The distinction is important we're talking about concerns within a campaign, not anything approaching evidence of a love connection. First of all, the story doesn't pretend to prove that an affair was actually going on. Did John McCain have a "romantic relationship"-the Times' words, not mine-with 40-year old former lobbyist Vicki Iseman in 1999-2000? So let's step back, take a deep breath and reexamine the facts.ġ. With the cable-news commentators barking away about whether or not the New York Times should have dropped this morning's McCain bombshell suggesting improper behavior concerning a former lobbyist-and politicos salivating over a New Republic story about internal strife at the paper-it seems like everyone is starting to forget that in the beginning, this wasn't a story about journalism.
#VIKI ISEMAN PROFESSIONAL#
Iseman's relationship with Senator McCain was entirely professional, ethical, and appropriate," the lawsuit states, adding that it "was not different in kind from the cordial yet professional relationship that hundreds of lobbyists have with hundreds of members of Congress.NOTE: I'll be updating this post throughout the afternoon, so check back frequently. The lawsuit cites accounts from other media, political pundits and the Times' public editor, Clark Hoyt, that interpreted the article as meaning that McCain and Iseman had an affair. The lawsuit claims that other media outlets were investigating McCain's ties with Iseman and that the Times was so concerned about being scooped that it printed a story "to pack the maximum sensational impact with the minimum factual support." The lawsuit contends she suffered an "avalanche of scorn, derision, and ridicule" that damaged her health. Coleman Allen Jr., who represents Iseman, said she waited until after the presidential election to file the suit because she didn't want it to become a distraction.
"As we said at the time, it was an important piece that raised questions about a presidential contender and the perception that he had been engaged in conflicts of interest." We continue to believe it to be true and accurate, and that we will prevail," the statement said.
The Times maintained its defense of the story in a statement Tuesday. "Otherwise, reasonable readers would conclude, The New York Times would never have printed the story at all." Iseman and Senator McCain had indeed engaged in an `inappropriate relationship,' a relationship that was romantic, unethical, and a conflict of interest," the lawsuit says. Iseman and Senator McCain only reinforced the message to readers that The New York Times in fact believed that Ms. "That The New York Times would make such aggressive and sensational allegations and insinuations in the face of on-the-record denials by Ms. The Times article said that both McCain and Iseman denied any romantic relationship, but the lawsuit says most readers would find that obligatory. In February, as McCain was seeking the Republican presidential nomination, the Times reported that McCain aides once worried the relationship between Iseman and McCain had turned romantic.Īt the time, McCain denounced the story as false. Iseman represented telecommunications companies before the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired. It also names as defendants the Times' executive editor, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters.
Iseman filed the $27 million defamation suit in U.S. By: A Washington lobbyist is suing The New York Times over an article that she says gave the false impression she had an affair with Sen.
0 kommentar(er)
