The Republican infighting in North Carolina’s 8th District intensified Monday evening, with Tim D’Annunzio hitting GOP primary rival Harold Johnson with a defamation suit again alleging that Johnson has lodged a series of false attacks against him.
In announcing his legal action, D’Annunzio said, “The Republican establishment has gone through admittedly messy divorce records from over 15 years ago in an effort to smear my name and elect their candidate of choice, Harold Johnson.”
The lawsuit comes weeks after the Charlotte Observer published a damaging story detailing D’Annunzio’s alleged criminal history and past drug abuse. Last week, Johnson hit the airwaves with a radio ad targeting D'Annunzio for his “life of drugs, crime and time served in prison” and for supposedly failing to pay an employer payroll tax, having tax liens, and withholding child support.
D’Annunzio’s campaign called the ad out of bounds, telling POLITICO last week that the one-minute spot inaccurately characterized D’Annunzio’s business history and past payments of child support.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38230.html