Ad claims Sotomayor supports terrorists

WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- A conservative legal advocacy group has created an ad against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, accusing her of supporting terrorists.

The Committee for Justice unveiled the ad on its Web site and Executive Director Curt Levey said the group hasn't decided whether to purchase air time on television, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

In the ad, Sotomayor is accused of supporting violent terrorists and is compared to former Weatherman Bill Ayers, painted by conservatives during the 2008 presidential campaign as a friend of Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

Levey said the ad was written by Chris LaCivita, who helped develop the Swift Boat Vets for Truth ads against Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt called the Sotomayor ad "an uniquely implausible act in wing-nuttery."

Levey told the Times the ad's goal was to be provocative to draw attention to Sotomayor's ties to the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, where she was a board member from 1980 to 1992 when she resigned to become a federal judge. He said the group had taken "radical" positions on issues such as affirmative action, the death penalty and abortion.

The Obama administration has rejected arguments the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund is radical.