Under the threat of a defamation lawsuit that they had no hope of fighting, Democratic campaign officials were forced to retract manufactured allegations they made against Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who has been spending millions of dollars to help elect Republican candidates.
The apology:
"In press statements issued on June 29 and July 2, 2012, the DCCC made unsubstantiated allegations that attacked Sheldon Adelson, a supporter of the opposing party," the DCCC said in an e-mail released Thursday. "This was wrong. The statements were untrue and unfair and we retract them. The DCCC extends its sincere apology to Mr. Adelson and his family for any injury we have caused."
More on this from Washington Post, CNN and Politico.
Perhaps instead of telling Harry Reid to "put up or shut up", Mitt Romney should take a page from Adelson and slap Reid with a defamation lawsuit for his unsubstantiated allegations and untrue statements of "rumors" he created then claimed to have heard.
"Well, it's time for Harry to put up or shut up. Harry's going to have to describe who it is he spoke with because of course, that's totally and completely wrong," Romney told Hannity in a radio interview. "It's untrue, dishonest, and inaccurate. It's wrong. So I'm looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources and we'll probably find out it's the White House. Look, the Obama campaign is going to do everything in its power to try and talk about anything besides the president's record. Home prices, median American incomes, gasoline prices, 23 million underemployed or unemployed..."
As Politico writer Maggie Haberman concludes : "In fairness to Romney, he is being accused of a pretty serious thing, and without proof being offered to back up the claim. "