Counter Attack by Russ Diamond

Sat, Feb. 18, 2006
==Founder of anti-incumbent group files libel lawsuit==
By Martha Raffaele, Associated Press
HARRISBURG - The founder of a group seeking to defeat incumbent state lawmakers filed a federal libel lawsuit yesterday against the creator of an opposition Web site that alleges that his campaign is "moneymaking scheme."
The site, www.uncleansweep.com, compares PACleanSweep chairman Russ Diamond to Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and alleges that "81 percent of every dime CleanSweep has spent has gone directly into Russ Diamond's pocket."
"The last time I looked, when you call somebody a criminal and it ain't true, that's libel per se," said Lawrence M. Otter, a Doylestown attorney representing Diamond.
The site is registered to Bob Nye, a Republican staffer in the state House of Representatives. Otter said he believes at least one Republican senator and one Republican representative assisted Nye, and the suit includes "John Doe" defendants under those titles.
"You're talking about the... people who like PACleanSweep the least in Pennsylvania, and this gentleman works in the same office they occupy," said Diamond, whose Web site is www.pacleansweep.com.
Otter said he plans to identify lawmakers in an amended court filing once he has gathered enough information, but he added he has subpoenaed both House and Senate Republican leaders. Spokesmen for both caucuses said attorneys are reviewing the subpoenas.
Nye did not immediately return a telephone message left at his office yesterday.
His attorney, Tom Leonard of Philadelphia, defended the site's content and contended that Diamond was trying to "choke debate and silence his critics."
"Truth is a defense, and to the best of our knowledge, everything on the Web site is true," Leonard said.
In newspaper stories published about the site this week, Nye was quoted as saying that he is the only one involved with the site and maintains it on his own time, with his own money. He told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he believes Diamond has "kind of been placed on a pedestal and I thought it was very important to at least get the facts out there."
The complaint also alleges that PACleanSweep's civil rights have been violated because www.uncleansweep.com seeks to thwart its effort to field challengers against incumbent lawmakers in the primary and general elections.