Kos: DeLay suing Dean

[AnnInLa]

www.dailykos.com

lead story

[Pirate Smile]

1. Could there be a bigger compliment to Dean? I don't think so.

It would be sooooo sweet for Dean to help bring Delay down.

[shance]

14. I liked this.

Excerpt about the supposed suit:

<<If this is true (and treat as rumor until further confirmation),

it would guarantee the ad gets played in countless news shows from here to election day.>>

:)

[wicket]

23. EXACTLY!!!!

"Please Mr. Delay, Don't throw me into that briar patch!"

:D

[swag]

2. cool - Put the Hammer Down!

[AIJ Alom]

3. How dare Howard Dean put up a commercial with headlines taken from news-

papers that reported on Tom Delay's ethics violations !!!

How dare he tell the truth !!!

[cornermouse]

4. Sometimes the truth hurts.

I guess DeLay is finding that out.

[oasis]

5. DeLay had better line up some "trial lawyers".

:bounce:

[faithnotgreed]

6. hehe, aquart just posted: dean in nyc for delay-ousting fundraiser

just met howard on the st in nyc and thats what he said. take that delay

[Diana52]

7. Frivolous....Junk

I thought the Repugs were against frivolous/junk lawsuits. Hmmm...

[Snotcicles]

19. I thought the same thing

[txindy]

24. No, no, only OUR lawsuits are frivolous, never THEIR lawsuits.

:eyes: :shrug:

[Shakespeare]

8. ooohhhh, man--DeLay's really stepped in it now!

Because now we get to address directly the TRUTH of the accusations. Tommy boy, you shouldn't oughta gone there.

[Eric J in MN]

9. I doubt this. It's very difficult or a public figure to win such a suit

nt

[atre]

17. When the statement is true, it's not just "difficult," but impossible

We don't even reach the New York Times v. Sullivan standard here, because the common law would dispose of this claim.

[napi21]

10. DeLay is running for his office again, right? Wouldn't it be great

to see him LOOSE!!!!

[madfloridian]

11. Dean and Franken are having a Retirement party for DeLay in NYC now.

Started at 6:30, supposedly. Poor Tom, he is really getting too upset.

Go, Howard, go DFA. Proud of us for funding that ad almost overnight.

[blm]

12. HAHAHA...Does DeLay need a lawyer or two?

Thought Republicans were supposed to be AGAINST frivolous lawsuits....especially against doctors.

[CoolerKing]

13. Sounds like desperation

If he really is suing them and this goes to trial...that means ALL of Delay's dirty laundry becomes open to subpoena power...AND under current laws he has to prove that Dean's charges aren't true, not the other way around. Hehehehahahahehehahaha.

This will never go to trial. My guess is that he knows he's in trouble and this is a desperate publicity stunt...one way or another, he drops this case after the election. A man as crooked as that doesn't want to go anywhere near a witness stand where he would have to testify under oath.

Think about what Dean could subpoena: phone records, financial reports, memos, emails, the ethics committee's unedited findings, Delay's contacts with Norquist and their "K Street Project." Talk about a gift!

[madfloridian]

15. It's true. Here are snips from a blog post.

SNIP..."Hi blog! Yep, it's true, DeLay is suing DFA......

SNIP...."I came back a little while ago from a Dean/DFA/DFNYC/Al Franken fundraiser for the DeLay ad, and when Dean announced that DeLay is suing us, you should have heard the cheering in the room! Our first ad, and we get sued! Yay!
SNIP..."his lawyers had looked over the ad before it was aired, and it was perfectly kosher."
(Her description of Dean's reactions are priceless... in the comments at the blog.)

SNIP..."When Dean brought up DeLay and his integrity, Dean said DeLay and integrity are an oxymoron...."END SNIP

I am sure this person will not mind my sharing this.

[sangh0]

18. Then "oxy" must mean integrity

because DeLay sure is a moran

SNIP..."When Dean brought up DeLay and his integrity, Dean said DeLay and integrity are an oxymoron...."END SNIP

[proud patriot]

16. Yay , the bait has been taken

:evilgrin:

[atre]

20. There's no chance whatsoever this is true

Lawyers face what is known as "Rule 11 sanctions" when they bring frivolous claims. Given the overwhelming evidence in favor of the allegations and given the New York Times v. Sullivan's relaxed standard of review for statements concerning public officials on matters of public concern, there is no way that a defamation suit would be anything other than frivolous.

O'Reilly was able to find some lawyer hacks who took a chance on his claim, but copyright law is a bit more fuzzy (since the "confusion" standard governs). Those lawyers were rightly laughed out of court by the Judge. A judge would not be so generous with a defamation suit of this nature; he'd levy some SERIOUS fines on any lawyers who tried to bring the claim that Delay is alleged to be bringing.

Look, he may be consulting a lawyer, but no lawyer would take the claim.

[madfloridian]

21. Apparently it is.

It was discussed by Dean at the rally tonight with Al Franken. I posted about it earlier in the thread. Will Delay follow through after the election? Maybe not....probably a ploy to use Dean for the elections. Most likely will backfire on DeLay.

[atre]

22. Lawyers' Rules of Prof. Conduct also prohibit filing frivolous claims

If the purpose is to harass or if the lawyer has a record of filing frivolous claims, the lawyer runs the risk of losing his law license.

I'm pre-supposing the claim is defamation. If that is the case, it is clearly frivolous. Perhaps there is some other claim (though I can't think of what it might possibly be).

[madfloridian]

25. Hey, I only know what they are saying about it.

That is all I know. I was a teacher before I retired, not a lawyer, so I just don't know.

However, that said, I do believe Dean thinks so or he would not have announced it publicly. That would be foolish.

[LiberalFighter]

26. Delay should be fined too

I didn't see anything in the ad that was libel. If it was then why didn't he sue the newspapers?

[despairing optimist]

27. Can anyone say Oscar Wilde?

Though DeLay is hardly in the same class intellectually, let alone literarily, the similarity lies in both assuming the plaintiff role and thereby sowing the seeds of their destruction while everyone watches. In Oscar's case it was tragic; for DeLay it's not even pathetic.

[wicket]

28. kick

:kick:

[lanparty]

29. This is like Faux suing Franken !!!

This is a mistake on DeLay's part. It only hands more publicity to Dean!!!!

[killbotfactory]

30. Oh, hell yes...

When Dean gets done with him, he'll be the cockroach.

Go Dean!

[Democat]

31. I thought Republicans hated lawyers?

Hypocrites.

Dean should launch another ad immediatly attackign DeLay for filing lawsuits and supporting trial lawyers.

Hypocrisy must be exposed and DeLay must be arrested for his crimes!

[Rjnerd]

32. Adali Stevenson said it best....

If you stop telling lies about us, we will stop telling the truth about you...