McCain pal sues NYT

Timothy McNulty | December 30, 2008

Remember the NYT's hatchet job on McCain lobbyist Vicki Iseman early this year, which seemed to hint at an affair between McCain and the blonde courtier, without ever proving one? (The McCain camp certainly does.) Now she's returning fire, suing the Grey Lady for $27 million, during some brutal economic times for the paper. From Politico:

Vikki Iseman, the D.C. lobbyist who was alleged to have an improper relationship with Sen. John McCain in an explosive New York Times story last February, is now suing the paper for $27 million.

Long Island Business News reports that "the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond on Tuesday, alleges the article falsely communicated that Iseman and McCain had an illicit 'romantic' relationship in 1999 when he was chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and she was a lobbyist representing clients before Congress."

Both McCain and Iseman denied any romantic relationship.

Also named in the 36-page suit as defendants are exexcutive editor Bill Keller, Washington bureau chief Dean Baquet, and reporters Jim Rutenberg, David Kirkpatrick, Stephen Labaton and Marilyn Thompson (who's since joined the Washington Post).

Suing for defamation, Iseman is said to have suffered mentally, emotionally, and in her health. She still works as a lobbyist.

The Times piece, which never proved there was any romantic involvment, received ample criticism on the left and right. The McCain campaign vowed to go to war with the paper, and there was friction between the two sides throughout 2008.