INDReporter

WWL: Vitter calls challenger's ad 'defamatory'

by Nathan Stubbs

Sen. David Vitter is threatening a lawsuit if Louisiana radio stations continue to air a commercial by Chet Traylor, his main opponent in the Republican primary.

Sen. David Vitter is threatening a lawsuit if Louisiana radio stations continue to air a commercial by Chet Traylor, his main opponent in the Republican primary. WWL reports that Vitter's attorneys sent letters to stations calling the ads "false, misleading and defamatory."

Broadcasters are bound by law not to discriminate against giving air time to any political candidates. The accusations come with less than a week to go in the race for the Republican nomination. The primary election is Aug. 28.

From WWL:

Vitter's attorneys specifically take issue with this allegation in the commercial:  "Vitter's Senate Aide for Women Affairs holds his girlfriend hostage while slashing her face with a knife."

James M. Garner, one of Vitter's attorneys in the matter, wrote that the aide in question, Brent Furer, was not convicted of assault and those charges were dismissed. In his letter, Garner added, "It was not even alleged by the victim in the police report that Mr. Furer slashed her face with a knife,'" as the commercial alleged.