Lobbyist Linked To McCain Sues NY Times

Vicki Iseman Charges Newspaper With Defamation For Linking Her, Senator Romantically

(AP)  A Washington lobbyist sued The New York Times for $27 million Tuesday over an article that she says gave the false impression she had an affair with Sen. John McCain in 1999.

The newspaper stood by the story.

Vicki L. Iseman filed the defamation suit in U.S. District Court in Richmond. It also names as defendants the Times' executive editor, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters.

Iseman represented telecommunications companies before the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired. 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.

The article said that both McCain and Iseman denied any romantic relationship, but the lawsuit says most readers would find that obligatory.

"That The New York Times would make such aggressive and sensational allegations and insinuations in the face of on-the-record denials by Ms. Iseman and Senator McCain only reinforced the message to readers that The New York Times in fact believed that Ms. 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. "Otherwise, reasonable readers would conclude, The New York Times would never have printed the story at all."

The Times maintained its defense of the story in a statement Tuesday.

"We fully stand behind the article. We continue to believe it to be true and accurate, and that we will prevail," the statement said. "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."

Richmond lawyer W. 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.

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.

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.

In what the lawsuit calls the most damaging passage, the article said two former McCain associates had warned him that he was risking his career, and that he "acknowledged behaving inappropriately" and "pledged to keep his distance" from Iseman.

The story also pointed to a fundraiser that Iseman and McCain attended in Miami in 1999, when they flew back to Washington along with a campaign aide on the corporate jet of one of her clients.

"Ms. 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."

Keith Werhan, a constitutional law professor at Tulane University, said key to Iseman's case will be how the court defines her - as a public figure or a private figure. Public figures have to meet a higher standard of proof, and show malice by a news outlet.

Werhan also said the Times could be protected if it accurately quoted McCain's former aides about their perceptions of his relationship with Iseman.

"If all those statements are true, then it seems to me the Times is not at fault for reporting that," Werhan said.

"It's essentially hard to win a defamation suit," Werhan added. "The idea is the First Amendment has its thumb on the press' side of scales."

Iseman's lawsuit was first reported by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.

[mizzerz]

Iseman wants to sue the NY times about the things they stated the Mccain staffers were suspecting and trying to avoid. I wonder if the Mccain staffers are being sued too.

[antoniof123]

What a nut job I didn''t even remember this until she brought it up.

Hope she loses like the rest of the nut jobs. They want things only their way when it makes them look good now who is using an frivolus law suite.

[rickstas]

Just think of all the false accusations by the Arkansas Project and Ken Starr!

[mitch5511]

Better be careful, Vicki old gal. You may find out the NY Times has an ace in the hole.

I bet this case will be dropped as fast as it was started.

[mizzerz]

"Richmond lawyer W. 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. "

Former lovers can become a distraction during a presidential election. Iseman and cindy could be twins. Now we know McCain''s type.

[cjw3cma]

The story the newspaper ran is true. This Vicki gal is saying that the paper gave the impression she had S-E-X with McSame which is not the case; it was the McSame staff that told the reporter(s) what was printed in the paper. They saw what was going on in their eyes and that is what was reported.

Poor Vicki is p*ssed that they were right and she needs to sue to keep from throwing up thinking about what she did. S-E-X with McSame - yuck!

[ragnar30066]

New York Times? Wasn''t that a newspaper at one time? Are they still in business?

[ioweign]

Not so long ago, Times shares sold for $20, and only a few years ago fetched $50. Today, it closed barely at $7 a share

Posted by peace4321 at 05:14 PM : Dec 31, 2008

So...

Not too long ago, Lee Enterprises shares were selling for $30.00 a share - now $.39

Newspaper (print) industry is taking a beating...

[walt1944-2009]

It appears that all the neocons have crawled out from under their rocks on this one.

I can''t help but wonder where these guys were when such rags as the National Inquirer, the Globe, the World Report, etc., were reporting that the then-Great Emperor Bush II had fallen off the wagon and was hitting the "Jack Daniels" pretty hard. You could sure tell there was something hitting what little grey matter he had when he had press conferences, or spoke at White House events.

Then there was the story from the rags that "Uncle George" was fighting with First Lady Laura on a daily basis and a divorce was in the making. Considering that the First Lady is just as big a "Ditz" as "Uncle George" is, this story really seemed likely.

Finally, the story that "Uncle George" was "sleeping" with Candy Rice deserves some special attention!

Surprisingly, all these stories were ignored by the neocons even though the rags reach more people than the NYT does! No one from the Bush family is suing the National Inquirer over these stories as far as I know!

Maybe there was truth to them, huh???

SIG HEIL, WHAT''S ONE MORE SKELETON IN THE CLOSET!!!, BUSH!!!

[punkinpie1]

Tsk Tsk aren''t we all a bit bitter here!

[questionnews]

The Weekly World News has more credibility than the New York Times. WWN stories about Batboy are more believable that the NYT editorial section.

[gogwgo]

Vicki, I and all real Americans can only hope you are successful in suing this libturd rag completely out of business.

[bwuff-2009]

junglejimy - All newspapers are losing readership, not just "left wing," but also "right wing" and even the "wingless" newspapers. Not everything comes down to Republican vs. Democrat.

[centerfall94]

Another right wing nutjob wanting a bunch of money she didn''t earn.

[samrt-2009]

This should prove entertaining. Any bets that the cable news outlets will ignore this and provide factual reporting of important events?

[xlib]

This "paper" hasn''t had any credibilty for years. When their own came down on these "journalists" for printing this outright lie, you know this woman has a case.
As it turns out, the chosen one didn''t need the times to help he get elected. Nope, he had more help than he needed. And money