Vicki Iseman

17 Stories

Times, McCain Lobbyist Spar Over Settlement

Lobbyist claims to have extracted a retraction; paper disagrees

(Newser) - Vicki Iseman’s lawsuit against the New York Times ended not with money changing hands, or a retraction, but with what Iseman’s lawyer have dubbed a retraction of an "implication"—which allows both parties to declare victory, Politico reports. The paper issued a statement that it never...

Lobbyist Linked to McCain Ends Times Suit

Iseman settles with no payment or retraction; article implied affair

(Newser) - Vicki Iseman, the lobbyist whose relationship with John McCain was the subject of an explosive New York Times article during the 2008 campaign, has settled her lawsuit against the paper. Iseman will receive no payment, and the Times has not retracted the article, which seemed to imply that she and...

Lobbyist Sues NYT Over McCain Affair Allegations

Vicki Iseman seeks $27M for defamation

(Newser) - Washingon lobbyist Vicki Iseman filed a $27 million defamation lawsuit today against the New York Times for running an article that she says falsely implied an affair with John McCain, the Virginia Lawyers Weekly reports. The February article said McCain aides worried in 1999 that their relationship had become romantic....

Lobbyist Denies McCain Affair
 Lobbyist Denies McCain Affair 

Lobbyist Denies McCain Affair

'I have never even been alone with Sen. McCain,' Vicki Iseman says

(Newser) - Vicki Iseman lashed out at the New York Times and a former John McCain adviser for the February story that implied an affair occurred between her and the Republican candidate, the National Journal reports. “I did not have a sexual relationship with Sen. McCain,” Iseman says. In fact,...

McCain Advisers Big on Loyalty, Dissension
 McCain Advisers Big on
 Loyalty, Dissension  
ANALYSIS

McCain Advisers Big on Loyalty, Dissension

Infighting between current, former top advisers colors campaign

(Newser) - John McCain’s inner circle is a hotbed of animosity and infighting among his fiercely loyal advisers, Jason Zengerle writes in the New Republic. Years of Freudian feuding by John Weaver and Rick Davis created a team divided not only on personal lines, but also on philosophical ones, between a...

Saint John Still Tainted by Senate Murk
Saint John Still Tainted by Senate Murk
ANALYSIS

Saint John Still Tainted by Senate Murk

Ethics crusader is still no stranger to lobbying culture

(Newser) - With John McCain the presumptive Republican nominee, Democrats are rushing to expose chinks in the Arizona senator's saintly armor, Michael Scherer reports in Time. Though McCain talks tough about special interests, he has often appeared to have done their bidding. He once, for example, wrote a letter on behalf of...

Journos Find Fault With NYT Story
Journos Find Fault With
NYT Story
OPINION

Journos Find Fault With NYT Story

Some didn't run McCain bombshell; Times ' own ombudsman bashed it

(Newser) - The New York Times’ bombshell story about John McCain’s ethics problems—and his allegedly inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist—is nearly a week old, but the media world is still reacting:
  • The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s ombudsman explains that his paper’s editor was too uncomfortable with the romantic
...

Broadcaster Rebuts McCain Lobbying Denial

Recalls meeting before FCC letters; McCain did, too, in 2002 deposition

(Newser) - John McCain's campaign has flatly denied that the senator met with a broadcaster or his lobbyist before writing to the FCC on his behalf in 1999. But Bud Paxson remembers the meeting; he says VIcki Iseman set it up, and may have attended, too. "Was Vicki there? Probably,"...

Lobbyists Pack Ethics Crusader McCain's Staff

Forget Iseman: Senior advisers represent major corporations

(Newser) - Vicki Iseman is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to John McCain’s associations with lobbyists, the Washington Post reports. McCain targets special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are or have been lobbyists representing some of the country’s biggest corporations. Top adviser Charles...

McCain Support Comes From All Corners
McCain Support Comes From
All Corners
OPINION

McCain Support Comes From All Corners

Left-wing bloggers climb on anti- Times bandwagon

(Newser) - One day after the New York Times reported on John McCain's "close bond" with Vicki Iseman, reaction is still developing, and not necessarily along ideological lines. Observers of the observers offer their impressions.
  • Popular liberal bloggers, "breaking with partisan patterns, are expressing discomfort," Ben Smith of Politico
...

Right Rallies to McCain's Defense Against NYT

But Limbaugh, others say that's what you get for wooing Dems, press

(Newser) - Conservative media figures who previously shunned John McCain stood up for him today—but also said he had it coming to him for wooing the mainstream press, ABC reports. Sean Hannity called the New York Times story on McCain's relationship with a lobbyist “beyond disgraceful." Rush Limbaugh, lumping...

McCain Critics Say Denials Bend Truth

They cite rebuke from FCC chief over letter in 1999 telecom case

(Newser) - John McCain's camp insists he did not act inappropriately on behalf of lobbyist Vicki Iseman's clients, but Talking Points Memo bloggers beg to differ. They point to newspaper articles from 2000 that said McCain—then chair of the Senate Commerce Committee—wrote a letter to the FCC on behalf of...

McCain Story Spurred Turmoil at Times

Editor pushed for better evidence of affair, irking reporters amid buzz

(Newser) - Today’s New York Times bombshell alleging improper ties between John McCain and a lobbyist dropped only after three months of feuding between reporters who thought they’d “nailed” a story and the Gray Lady’s unsatisfied editor, the New Republic reports. One writer quit the paper over the...

Will McCain Bombshell Help or Hurt With the Right?

Bloggers debate impact of Times story

(Newser) - Now that the New York Times’ long-awaited story on John McCain’s relationship with a female lobbyist is finally out—matched by a similar Washington Post story—how will it affect the presidential race?
  • The New Republic’s Christopher Orr says the article may cut both ways for conservatives, with
...

McCain Denies Charges of Impropriety with Lobbyist

Calls female lobbyist a 'friend,' denies any 'unwarranted access or influence'

(Newser) - A subdued John McCain, flanked by his wife, held a press conference today to deny all charges in a New York Times story alleging improprieties involving a female lobbyist. Saying he is "disappointed" in the Times, and that the story alleging a romantic relationship is "not true,"...

McCain Denies Lobbyist Scandal, Attacks Times

Candidate slams article, 'smear campaign'

(Newser) - John McCain’s camp came out swinging at the New York Times last night, calling a “hit and run smear campaign” a report alleging that the senator had been involved in an improper and possibly romantic relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman eight years ago. “The New York Times...

McCain Ties to Female Lobbyist Questioned

Candidate denies Times allegations of romance, impropriety

(Newser) - In his last run for the presidency, John McCain developed a close relationship with a female lobbyist that worried his advisers so much they intervened with both McCain and the woman to keep them apart, the New York Times reports. The paper cites the incident in a lengthy look at...

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