John McCain lobbyist controversy
In December 2008, Iseman filed a US$27 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging that the paper falsely communicated an illicit romantic relationship between her and McCain.
McCain wrote letters in 1998 and 1999 to the Federal Communications Commission encouraging it to uphold marketing agreements allowing a television company to control two stations in the same city, a position which Iseman had been advocating on behalf of her client Glencairn Ltd. (now Cunningham Broadcasting).
[1] McCain also introduced a bill to create tax incentives for minority ownership of stations, which several businesses Iseman represented were seeking.
[1] Later in 1999, Iseman requested McCain to write to the FCC urging it to reach a speedy decision in a case involving Paxson Communications.
[1] According to The Times story, Iseman began visiting McCain's offices and campaign events so frequently in 2000 that his aides were "convinced the relationship had become romantic".
Daniel Schnur, McCain's 2000 communication director with no current connection to the campaign, called The Times account "highly implausible".
[1] Supposedly, an unnamed campaign adviser was instructed to keep Iseman away from McCain at public events, and plans were made to limit her access to his offices.
He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election.
Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career.
[2] The Times' decision to publish the article while relying almost entirely on anonymous sources has raised ethical questions relating to the story's veracity and importance.
Commentator Bill O'Reilly raised the question about why the paper had endorsed McCain on January 25, 2008, for the Republican nomination if they had information that alleged an inappropriate relationship.
The editor of the American Journalism Review said that, while the article wasn't entirely convincing, it did put to question McCain's reputation as a reformer.
[14] However, a dean at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism disagreed, saying, "[If] you haven't covered all your bases or been transparent about where you got the information ... then the criticism takes over and the story loses its significance.
"[14] Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center faulted the paper for focusing on the purported affair.
"[17] Jay Ambrose, an opinion columnist for the Boston Herald, summarized their sentiment by writing, "One of the first rules of decent, principles-abiding journalism is that you don't print rumors.
Jonathan Alter of Newsweek said the article lacked physical evidence, noting, "[L]et's face it, people are more interested in sex than they are in telecommunications lobbying activity.
According to the article, "In late 1998, Senator John McCain sent an unusually blunt letter to the head of the Federal Communications Commission, warning that he would try to overhaul the agency if it closed a broadcast ownership loophole.
[29] In December 2008, Iseman filed a US$27 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging that the paper falsely communicated an illicit romantic relationship between her and McCain.
'"[31] Ms. Iseman's lawyers for the published the statement were Rodney A. Smolla is an attorney, and Dean of the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
She said of Weaver's influence on the story, "[it] all went back to one singular person, a political operative who had left the senator's campaign under acrimonious circumstances.
