Vicki Iseman Sues New York Times for Alleging McCain Affair

During the election season, many scandals occurred while just as many of them stalled before becoming bigger. One of them was a New York Times story alleging that John McCain had an affair with Vicki Iseman, a lobbyist for telecommunication companies. The accusations ran during the primaries, but didn't stop McCain from winning the Republican nomination, or make an impact in the general election. Nonetheless, Vicki Iseman is targeting the New York Times with a defamation lawsuit.

Vicki Iseman filed a $27 million lawsuit on Tuesday, charging the New York Times with "sensational allegations and insinuations" about her supposed relationship with McCain. The Times still stands by their story, however.

The original story from the New York Times quoted anonymous aides to McCain, who claimed that McCain and Iseman may have forged a romantic relationship in 1999 and 2000.

It did not say outright that McCain and Iseman were in such a relationship, but did raise the possibility to such an extent that it became a big story for a while.

Iseman and McCain were linked due to Iseman's appearances, on behalf of telecommunication companies, in front of the Senate Commerce Committee, which is chaired by McCain. In the story, aides worried that McCain was giving special treatment to Iseman and her clients on the Senate Commerce Committee.

The insinuation of the New York Times article was not only that McCain and Iseman may have been involved, but that McCain was violating ethical standards, despite that issue being a centerpiece of his campaign in the primaries.

Iseman claims that the story brought her an "avalanche of scorn, derision and ridicule," according to her lawsuit. It also brought upon yet another debate over the "liberal media" and whether the New York Times was out to get McCain.

Even some New York Times readers, and its own public editor, Clark Hoyt, questioned the story's seamier insinuations. Republicans rallied around McCain while taking another chance to beat on the Times, one of their favorite punching bags.