“The alleged disclosure at issue here did not involve a conversation on a purely private matter,” McDermott’s attorneys argue. “It involved a conversation regarding an attempt to orchestrate a political response to a reprimand of the speaker by the House Ethics Committee in violation of an explicit agreement to the contrary between the speaker and the committee.
“This is core political speech and lies at the very heart of the First Amendment,” the reply argues. “If a citizen who lawfully obtains such speech can be punished for disclosing it to the media, the protections of the First Amendment are more illusory than real.”
But Ted Cruz, Boehner’s attorney, said the fund-raising letter demonstrates nothing and highlights the weakness of McDermott’s defense. Boehner alleges that McDermott gave the taped phone call - which Republicans argue did not violate any promise made by Gingrich - to The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal and Roll Call, a semiweekly congressional newspaper.
“The fund-raising letter is much ado about nothing,” Cruz said. “Congressman McDermott has consistently attempted to delay the litigation and drive up the expense. It is reasonably expected that Congressman Boehner will use the means at his disposal to raise the funds to pursue this lawsuit.”
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