The day before the election, Rep. Darrell Issa (CA) sued his democratic opponent Doug Applegate for two campaign ads he claims were libelous. One of the ads was based on an August 2011 article from the New York Times, “A Business in Congress Helps his District and Himself.” The other quoted Issa on a bill benefiting victims of the 9/11 attacks. Issa wants $10 million in damages. (San Diego Union-Tribune, November 30, 2016, by Joshua Stewart)
Bryan Schatz, in Mother Jones, December 1, 2016, writes that Issa, one of the richest members of Congress, may be trying to correct the record after he squeaked by in the election or to drain Applegate’s bank account out of retribution. In any case it is doubtful Issa could prevail given the free speech leeway the Supreme Court has granted to citizens involved in political campaigns.
The New York Times article claimed that Issa secured Congressional earmarks for road work and public works that improved traffic to commercial properties owned by Issa north of San Diego. The earmarked funds were never spent on the road improvements. Concerning the ad that alleged that tea party members voted to deny healthcare to 9/11 responders, Issa was upset that the ad omitted that it was not only Issa and the tea party who voted against the coverage and that it did not mention that he backed other support for 9/11 victims and first responders. (Wonkette, December 1, 2016, by Doktor Zoom)