Lawyers for candidates demand ads be pulled

Lawyers supporting both Democratic and Republican interests have demanded in the last week that television stations stop airing attack ads produced by their opponents in the 23rd Congressional District race.

The arguments of Jessica C. Furst, the National Republican Congressional Committee's general counsel, and Thomas W. Plimpton, counsel to Democratic candidate William L. Owens, are the same, even if their targets are each other.

The stations, they argue, have a duty under Federal Communications Commission regulations to protect the public from false, misleading and deceptive advertising.

So far, their pleas are going unheeded.

"Most TV stations are sophisticated enough that they don't scare that easily," said Barry D. Wood, who serves as WWNY-TV 7's legal counsel for all FCC matters. "I don't know anyone who has taken the ads off based on the Plimpton letter."

Mr. Wood, a managing partner at Wood, Maines & Nolan, Arlington, Va., said TV stations have an obligation to not knowingly air something that is "patently false."

But the lawyer said that's "a high standard as far as the FCC is concerned."

Ms. Furst argued in an Oct. 9 letter that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's claim that Republican Dierdre K. Scozzafava voted for more taxes and fees 190 times is "beyond misleading — it simply cannot be defended by the facts."

The lawyer asked stations to stop airing the ad that made the claim and reject future advertising from the campaign committee.

Mr. Plimpton's argument Monday was that Mr. Owens' "public reputation, his political campaign and his professional career" were damaged by the Republican committee's ad which characterized him as "a lawyer" and "not a businessman."

Mr. Plimpton, who works for Mr. Owens' Plattsburgh firm, also said the ad's accusation that the Democrats' candidate supports higher income tax rates, the death tax and higher taxes on small business is "simply false and without foundation."

While stations are legally required to accept and air candidate's self-advertising, they are not required to air advertisements from political parties or other special interest groups.

Mr. Plimpton warned stations that they "bear responsibility" for the ad's content if they continue to air it and added that failing to prevent false and misleading advertising from airing could result in the loss of a station's license.

Mr. Wood said the FCC "very seldom" takes punitive action against a station that runs an ad that turns out to be false. The lawyer added that WWNY has not faced one serious challenge to its license in its 55 years of operation.

Cathy M. Pircsuk, the station's general manger added: "Candidates have the ability to speak their peace in their paid advertisements. It's not up to me to decide who's right and who's wrong. It's up to the public to decide that."

Ms. Pircsuk said the station will continue airing both ads.