Lobbyist Sues New York Times

Was she cleaning out stacks of old newspapers? Washington lobbyist Vicki Iseman has filed a lawsuit against The New York Times over a much-disputed article it published…last February. The $27 million defamation suit, whose defendants include the newspaper, executive editor, the Washington bureau chief, and four reporters, alleges an “unprofessional relationship” was implied between the lobbyist and then-presidential candidate John McCain. The suit states: “In their attack on Senator McCain, the [defendants] were willing to sacrifice Ms. Iseman as acceptable collateral damage, recklessly indifferent to the avalanche of scorn, derision and ridicule Ms. Iseman would suffer.” While the original Times article was vague, the lawsuit argues that commentators assumed the two had an alleged affair and as a result Iseman suffered mental, emotional, and physical damage to her health.