Rep. Taylor demands Wall Street Journal retract story saying he used office to help business

(AP) A congressman in the thick of a tough re-election battle demanded Friday that The Wall Street Journal correct and retract statements in an article that said he slipped projects benefiting his own business interests into the federal budget, a claim he called libelous.

Rep. Charles Taylor said he would sue the newspaper if it does not meet his demands, made in a letter written by Asheville lawyer Robert B. Long Jr. and released by Taylor's office.

Taylor is demanding that the Journal retract a front-page article published Wednesday titled "Seat in Congress Helps Mr. Taylor Help His Business." It said he added "earmarks" to legislation to widen two highways near property he owns, to give millions to nonprofit groups run by his business partners and supporters, and to provide $3.8 million for a park in front of a downtown Asheville bank he owns.

Written by John R. Wilke, the story cited congressional, corporate and real-estate records. Taylor described it as "full of misinformation and unsupported falsehoods."

A Wall Street Journal spokesman was unable to immediately confirm that the newspaper had received Taylor's letter and therefore could not comment.

Taylor, a veteran Republican from Brevard who is one of Congress's wealthiest members, is in a fierce re-election battle with Democrat Heath Shuler, a former NFL quarterback. Although Taylor's district in far western North Carolina leans conservative, many analysts have rated the race a tossup.

In a summary, Taylor identified 15 statements in the article he said were false. He said he owns no property near one of the highways mentioned, and that the other road project is needed for the safety of area residents, not for the timberland he owns "miles away."

He said another earmark the story attributed to him _ a much publicized grant of $500,000 to fund a teapot museum in Sparta _ actually came from Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican who represents the district that includes Sparta.

Taylor also said the article incorrectly identified him as an investor in a mountaintop ski resort whose application for a sewage waste-water permit he had supported in a letter to North Carolina officials.

He said other errors included his length of service in the state General Assembly.