Va. Dems sued for $1M for ad

[Robbien]

Source: Virginia Examiner

Washington DC (Map, News) - A Washington lobbying shop filed a $1 million defamation suit Friday against the Democratic Party of Virginia and a legislative candidate over an ad that links the firm to the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The Livingston Group, founded by former U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston, is asking a Fairfax County court to rule on the accuracy of a mail ad that Democrat Rex Simmons used to attack Del. Tim Hugo, R-Herndon. Hugo is a part-time lobbyist with the firm. The Democratic Party of Virginia paid for the ad, but Simmons’ campaign approved it.

The ad in question said, “Tim Hugo’s lobbying firm represents the ones who were responsible for torture abuses at Abu Ghraib.”

The Livingston Group said it formally represented CACI International, which provided civilian interrogators to assist military personnel at the notorious Iraqi prison. The firm said CACI hired Livingston to lobby Congress on a different issue and has not been a client since 2004, a year before Hugo joined the lobbying shop.

“The Livingston Group was extremely upset that anyone would link them to companies involved in the Abu Ghraib incident,” said Ben DiMuro, a Livingston attorney.

Read more: http://www.examiner.com/a-1026722~Va__Dems_sued_for__1M_for_ad_.html

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The Livingston Group resents being linked to torturers but they represent the firm which supplies torturers. Idiots.

[baldguy]

1. If you don't want to be covered in mud, don't play with pigs.

Suck it, Bob.

[rodeodance]

2. Bob Livingston, the Sen. who had to quit Congress over an affair (this was around

the Newt era)------he was a goody two shoes at the time.

[sallyseven]

7. He voted to impeach Clinton

Then they caught him with his pants down with several women. The holier they are the harder they fall. That brought Hasstert to the speaker ship. Livingston is just a bsd omen.

[TexasLawyer]

3. Truth as a defense

The most important defense to an action for defamation is "truth," which is an absolute defense to an action for defamation.

This puts CACI's role in Abu Ghraib squarely at issue in the law suit.

I wonder if CACI was consulted by the Livingston Group before the defamation suit was filed. I would imagine that CACI cannot be happy about this.

[OregonBlue]

4. So this whole thing about waterboarding not being torture is to protect "private torturers"?

We hired Bush's buddies to torture and now we need to make sure they aren't prosecuted?

[spotbird]

5. It will actually cause more

publicity. Unless the judge is entirely corrupt, a real possibility, there doesn't seem much hope for success in this suit.

They likely will drop it soon, the action was for the press that they sued to protect their good name, they don't want a judgment.

[mopinko]

6. caci is law suit happy. they sued randi

rhodes. same thing- saying that caci personnel were responsible for abu graib.
afaik, randi won.

[SoCalDem]

8. Love it..

Bring this all out into the sunlight, and let the depositions begin :)

[dougolat]

9. k&r

They can't handle the truth!

[LeftishBrit]

10. OK. And I assume that all the Democrats who have been linked by Republicans to Osama

will also be able to sue for massive damages?

[pinto]

11. the Abu Ghraib 'incident'...

lipstick meet pig

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. Ahhh, the Church of Phelps defense: ATTACK

aim for costs, guys, and do plenty of discovery. If you need us to help, just ask, and I suspect we will donate to your cause.

[ThoughtCriminal]

13. Just wait till they find out about "Discovery"

I wonder if their lawyers explained it to the execs.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

14. Holy Without Merit, Batman!! n/t