NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A lobbyist says The New York Times falsely implied that she had a romantic relationship with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and is suing the newspaper.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., by lobbyist Vicki Iseman, cites a Feb. 21 front-page article in the Times, saying it "falsely communicated" that she and McCain "had an illicit 'romantic' and unethical relationship in breach of the public trust in 1999," the Times reported.
Iseman at that time was representing clients before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee headed by McCain.
"Ms. Iseman did not engage in any behavior toward him that was anything other than professional and appropriate," the suit alleges, seeking damages of $27 million.
The article didn't directly say that Iseman and McCain had had a romantic relationship, but it did cite several unnamed McCain aides as being "convinced" the Republican U.S. presidential nominee had grown too close to Iseman and that the relationship might hurt him if it became public, the newspaper said.
"We fully stand behind the article," newspaper spokeswoman Abbe Serphos said. "We continue to believe it to be true and accurate, and that we will prevail."
