Matt Brown
issues cease and desist to Raimondo campaign over ‘false and defamatory’ ads
An attorney for the Matt Brown for Governor campaign issued a cease and desist letter to
incumbent Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and
her senior campaign staff calling on her to immediately retract the false and
defamatory statements made in TV and mailer advertisements about Matt Brown.
Specifically, the letter cites the
following allegations made by the Raimondo campaign:
- Beginning August 30, the Raimondo
Campaign has broadcast a television
advertisement that asserts that Mr Brown “ran” his United States
Senate campaign “with apparent laundering of campaign contributions,” “hid
$150,000 in debt,” and “stiffed his workers over $100,000 in pay”; and that, at
the nonprofit organization where he subsequently worked, Mr Brown “pa[id]
himself nearly $300,000 a year.”
- On July 5 the Raimondo
Campaign sent a message to
the Providence Journal, with intent that the newspaper
would further circulate it publicly (as it did), that “[Matt Brown’s last
campaign in 2006 ended in a criminal investigation.”
- On or about July 23, Governor Raimondo stated to
Rhode Island resident Brianna McFadden that Mr. Brown is “most famous for
having engaged in money laundering and had to drop out of his Senate campaign
for doing that.”
“These absurd, false attacks reveal
Gina Raimondo’s deep disrespect for Rhode Islanders, who she assumes aren’t
smart enough to spot a blatant lie when they see it,” said Brown in a written
statement.
“But Rhode Islanders are smart and won’t be fooled, and they
won’t let our democracy be bought by someone who lies and spends millions of
dollars to trick voters and buy an election while refusing to do even one
debate.
"The truth is that the baseless attacks are an attempt to distract from
Raimondo’s own financial mismanagement, which adds up to more than $1.5 billion
in losses from the UHIP debacle, failed pension investments, Cooler and Warmer,
195 construction debacle, and more.
“Politicians only pour millions of
dollars into negative attacks when they know the race is close.
We’ve heard
from multiple sources that a leaked poll from Gina Raimondo’s campaign puts
Raimondo and me in a statistical tie among Democrats, and Spencer Dickinson at 2 percent. Gina Raimondo’s
campaign is panicking because they know Rhode Island is ready for change and
that our grassroots campaign is on the verge of major political upset.”
The cease and desist letter from
Washington DC based attorney Laurence Gold takes
on each of the allegations in turn.
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