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Congressman wants online comment about ‘code of conduct’ deletedThu, 09/28/2006 - 4:25pm
By: John Munford
U.S. Congressman Lynn Westmoreland’s press secretary Thursday suggested legal action may be forthcoming against The Citizen over an online blog posted by an anonymous person on the newspaper’s Web site. Brian Robinson, Westmoreland’s press secretary, said the blog is libelous and he requested the blog to be taken down. Citizen Publisher Cal Beverly declined to do so. “It’s his Web site. He is liable for that,” Robinson said in an interview Thursday afternoon, adding that Beverly can expect to hear from the congressman’s attorneys. Robinson said even if Beverly agrees the blog isn’t libelous, he should have it taken down anyway “because it fails to meet journalistic standards.” Robinson, in a follow-up e-mail, said when he told Westmoreland about the situation, Westmoreland replied: “Brian, don’t worry about it. All that paper is used for is to line bird cages.” The blog in question was not posted by a Citizen staffer but instead by an anonymous computer user. Non-staff bloggers generally aren’t held to the same standards as traditional journalists throughout cyberspace. The blogger, who goes by the online moniker SadFayette, wrote a blog entitled “Seabaugh-Westmoreland Code of Conduct,” referring to Westmoreland and also state Senator Mitch Seabaugh, whose district formerly included Peachtree City. The blogger was one of a number of commenters who have been criticizing the two lawmakers about their support of TDK Boulevard Extension from Peachtree City into a hot new development area of eastern Coweta County. The anonymous poster alleged that the two legislators have “codes of conduct,” the content of which drew the complaint from Westmoreland’s office. In the listing of the so-called “codes of conduct” SadFayette wrote: “ADULTERY: It’s legal; its ok “DRUNKENENSS (sic) ON SUNDAY WITH THE LIQUOR LOBBYISTS AT THE SPORTING EVENTS WHICH WE DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR AND HANG OUT WITH YOUNG GIRLS, ALL ON THE SABBATH: It’s legal; its ok “LIE ABOUT REASONS FOR TDK: It’s legal; its ok “MISREPRESENT YOUR BUSINESS CONNECTIONS: It’s legal; its ok “TAKE THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN: It’s legal; its ok “Hey, wait...Those were some of the Ten Commandments. Now I must apologize. That’s not fair. Lynn and Mitch only know the Three Commandments.” “Show me where Lynn has said that in public or private,” Robinson said. “They are baseless allegations. It was a character attack in an attempt to defame Mr. Westmoreland’s character ... not an opinion.” Robinson said the comments run afoul of libel laws, which are intended to protect persons from untrue statements. “We think this is libelous by the standards of the community,” Robinson said. “We think there was malicious intent. ... If it was a public policy, you have every right to criticize Lynn, he’s fair game.” Westmoreland is up for re-election this year and is facing opposition from Democrat Mike McGraw. Robinson also attacked the credibility of The Citizen, claiming it hasn’t printed any positive news about the congressman since he has been in office. But in Wednesday’s edition of The Citizen on page A14, the paper printed a publicity photo provided by Westmoreland’s office of the congressman socializing with members of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce who visited him. Following are the e-mails Robinson sent to Citizen publisher Beverly after their initial phone call. The first e-mail: “I said you may hear from our attorneys. There was no threat of anything. Your story should not include the word ‘sue’ or ‘threat.’ Neither is true. “Our phone (sic) consisted of me bringing the blog to your attention, informing you that we think it’s libelous, asking you to take it down and advising you that if that is not done, you would be hearing from our attorneys. “But then again, I’m sure you think you can have ‘an opinion’ that I ‘threatened to sue’ because apparently ‘opinion’ to you means ‘license to lie or make up facts.’ “Even though I have no reason to believe that we’re (sic) get fair treatment from your newspaper, I gave an interview to your reporter, John Munford.” The second e-mail: “And while we’re at it. “You published a story that quoted Lynn as saying that Fulton County has the PSC issue ‘in hand.’ “No one here every (sic) talked to your reporter, b/c per usual we weren’t called for our side of the story. So Lynn never gave anyone at the Citizen that quote. That phrase hasn’t been used in any constituent mail on the issue. “So where did that quote come from? The story doesn’t even say. “Now, you’ve printed letters slamming Lynn about that quote – a quote we never issued. “Hey, I guess it’s your opinion that he said it’s ‘in hand.’ [EDITOR'S note: See addendum below.] “There’s something called a journalism degree and I have one. I’m happy to come give a seminar to your ‘newsroom’ – I use the term lightly – to educate you and your staff on citing sources, checking facts and bolstering your credibility. One would have to assume y’all have never heard of such things. “The only standard you seem to have is: Does it attack Lynn Westmoreland? As long as it passes that test, it’s going on your site or in your newspaper.” Publisher Beverly had the following response: “I’m sorry that Congressman Westmoreland felt the need to bring out his legal guns to force us to delete a blogger’s satirical opinions during the middle of an election campaign. “I decline to be intimidated by a sitting congressman. “I don’t agree with or subscribe to the anonymous blogger’s opinion about the two public officials, but the blogger is stating an opinion about the supposed opinions of two elected officials. That’s called free speech. There’s an amendment about that in the Constitution. “However uncomfortable such opinions make me or the elected officials, the public has the right to make comments contained in this particular blog about their elected officials. “The blogging ability of the public is new ground for many, and while it may make some of us squirm, it is an extension of the people’s right to comment on their elected officials. “While I might wish that folks would be a tad more gentle or circumspect in stating their opinions, I believe that the public benefits from a freewheeling and open exchange of ideas and opinions on our Web site. Thus, I declined to delete the offending blogger upon the demand of Congressman Westmoreland. “Harry Truman once famously said, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ I agree with the man from Independence. “Especially during an election campaign, Mr. Westmoreland should understand that politics can get rough-and-tumble. Somebody who stated recently that ‘I voted for torture,’ should realize the need for tough skin.” [EDITOR'S NOTE: Following the posting of this story Thursday afternoon, the anonymous blogger apparently signed on to the site and -- using the power given to all authenticated users -- deleted the blog involved in the controversy. The blog was NOT removed by The Citizen staff.] [Editor's addendum and opinion, added Sept. 29, 2006: The quote in question in the story above came from the following story in The Citizen, Sept. 13, 2006 ("State EPD: 'We have no records' on treatment plant"): “Most recently I viewed a letter written by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland in May 2006 asking the Environment Protection Agency that governs between states to even further lessen their restrictions with regard to pesticide containment in the state of Georgia. How much lower can we go?” Biemiller said. “And, all this time I have been wondering why I was told by Rep. Westmoreland’s office that they did not see the need to get involved in our plight with regard to the poisoning of the citizens he represents, ‘they felt Fulton County had it well in hand.’ I, for one, have been jolted out of a dream state and quickly placed into reality with regard to the actions of our elected officials and that of our governing agencies. As chairman of the South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force, I can say to our citizens that we will not stop until we are safe again and we ask that citizens everywhere in this great state join us in this fight to rid our residential community of toxins that continue to harm us and can potentially kill us.” Connie Biemiller's contact with Westmoreland's office in Washington, D.C., is the source of the quote in question. If Congressman Westmoreland has a position that differs from this quote, he has failed to communicate it to this newspaper or to his constituents in North Fayette County, despite the disingenuous deflection by his press secretary. His office staff is telling constituents what is contained in the quote above; thus, that is Westmoreland's official position. The fact is that Westmoreland has kept his distance from the PSC plant controversy to this day, as reflected in his office's response to a Fayette constituent quoted above. If he has changed his mind and has belatedly decided to come to the aid of his Fayette constituents who have been affected by the onion-odor spill, he has not made that known to anybody who is answering his office phones. So much for "made-up" quotes. Lynn, where are you? AWOL at this point for the very people you were elected to represent. — Cal Beverly, editor] login to post comments
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