A local ABC affiliate pulled an AFL-CIO ad that attacks Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson off the air Thursday.
WTNH-TV joined five Mississippi stations that pulled similar ads earlier this week.
WTNH General Manager Jon Hitchcock had no comment on the move.
Dan Modisett, general manager of WLBT in Jackson, Miss., said his station pulled the ad on advice from a Washington law firm, which said the station could be “exposed to some liability” if it continued to run the ad.
In Connecticut, the ad accuses Johnson of voting for a tax break for bankrupt energy company Enron.
The state Republican Party sent a memo to television stations on Tuesday claiming the ad contains “gross inaccuracies and outright lies.”
“WTNH did the right thing in pulling this deceptive and misleading ad that (U.S. Rep. James) Maloney and his allies are running,” said Brian Schubert, campaign spokesman for Johnson, who is opposing Maloney in the newly drawn 5th District.
Maloney, a Democrat, said he has never even seen the ad, which was sponsored by the AFL-CIO.
“The ad is criticizing her for voting for this $245 million tax break for Enron when they hadn’t paid taxes for several years,” Maloney said. “That’s accurate.”
In his memo to the Connecticut stations, Connecticut GOP Chairman Chris DePino said the legislation the ad cites is an economic stimulus package that applied to all companies and did not single out Enron.
John Olsen, who serves as chairman of both the Connecticut Democrats and the state AFL-CIO, said the ad is accurate.
“I don’t understand why the ad was pulled, especially when I watch some of the stuff that is going out from the other side,” Olsen said.
–Associated Press