NEW YORK (AFP) — A Washington lobbyist is suing The New York Times for an article suggesting she may have had an affair with Republican presidential contender John McCain, the daily said Wednesday.
The suit filed with a court in Virginia alleges that a February front page article in the Times "falsely communicated" that lobbyist Vicki Iseman and the married senator "had an illicit 'romantic' and unethical relationship."
Iseman is seeking damages of 27 million dollars in the suit, which targets the financially troubled New York Times Company, executive editor Bill Keller, the Washington bureau chief, and four current or former reporters, the Times reported.
The Times quoted its spokesman saying: "We fully stand behind the article. We continue to believe it to be true and accurate and that we will prevail."
The February 21 article examined conflicts of interest in McCain's career.
The most explosive aspect was the article's quoting of unnamed sources claiming that a relationship between McCain and Iseman "had become romantic."
McCain publicly refuted the suggestion which referred to a period eight years earlier, prior to a first presidential bid, when he was acquainted with Iseman, 30 years his junior.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
