Susan Wild Takes Offense at My "Potshots," Threatens Libel

Yesterday, I told you that the rumors that NorCo Exec Lamont McClure had decided against seeking a third term were accurate. He told me (via text - he has laryngitis from shouting during the latest Eagles' victory) there's still a lot of "unfinished business" this year, like a bond to finance the construction of a new parking deck at the courthouse complex and a new radio system for first responders. After that he might return to the practice of law or "may explore other options to continue serving the public." One of those options certainly includes a run for the Congressional seat that Republican Ryan Mackenzie won in November against Democrat Susan Wild. That possibility has angered Wild, who apparently thinks the seat she lost in November is still hers.

After her loss, Wild fell off the planet for a month or two. But as word began to circulate that McClure might be eyeing that seat, Wild began reaching out to people I know, complaining about it. Then she suddenly appeared at Easton's Shiloh Baptist Church on MLK Day, where she glad-handed nearly everyone. Nearly. She snubbed McClure.

How do I know this? Well, I was not in attendance myself but heard about the snub from several very reliable people who were there.

I reported this in yesterday's story. Some of you don't read comments, or only read a few, but one of the reactions came from Wild herself. Here's what she had to say:

Bernie, I was hoping that your potshots might stop once I was out of office, but I guess it’s too much fun for you. For the record: The 118th Congress went back into session after the election and remained in session until almost Christmas. I fulfilled my duties and was in DC most of that time. And, as I very publicly said, I planned to give myself the grace of a month off in January, since I hadn’t enjoyed a period without working since I was in my teens. The MLK event at Shiloh has always been a favorite of mine, so I went to that and enjoyed it. I didn’t shun anyone. I also didn’t see you there, so you’re just making this stuff up. I don’t owe you any accounting of what I’m doing as a private citizen, but if you’re going to continue to disparage me, I’ll correct the record as necessary.

Oh. And I didn’t leak any ethics report. That was a smear campaign by a couple of Republicans. If I had leaked it to someone, don’t you think it would have come out long before the committee authorized its release? Your statement is libelous and I assume you know the law on libel. Just reprinting trash lies is not a defense.

Wild's comment and threat deserves a response:

Susan, the truth is that I paid very little attention to your race. Most of the news releases I received from the Mackenzie campaign went to my spam folder and I missed them. In October, I did post a blog about your car getting booted for unpaid fines. As I explained at the time, I could understand how you might have been busy. But there was another matter for which you were never cited, and that is parking your Toyota SUV in a handicapped spot with no placard. Even there, I was more than willing to accept a reasonable explanation. Perhaps you are handicapped and just forgot to use your placard. So I sent two emails to your campaign seeking an explanation. You and or your staff ignored them. Perhaps you were all too busy raising money from California donors to pay attention to an actual constituent. So the only conclusion I could reach is that you were, in fact, illegally parked in a handicapped spot. As I said at the time, "people who park in handicapped parking spaces are the lowest of the low. This selfish and completely inconsiderate behavior betrays [your] elitism, something [you have] already demonstrated in condescending comments about Carbon County voters."

You indicate that you returned to Washington after your loss and fulfilled your Congressional duties. That's simply untrue if the weekly summary of votes appearing in The Morning Call is accurate. It reports you as missing your vote on several pieces of legislation. Perhaps that is fake news.

Finally, you claim that my report about you leaking a House ethics report is libelous and that I should know the law on that subject. I do. You don't. What I did was write about was a Hill news story that you, as Ranking member of the House Ethics Committee, leaked derogatory information about a former Congressman after swearing an oath to keep everything confidential. Moreover, according to Congressional Insider, you admitted to being the source of the leaks and then skipped a meeting of the House Ethics Committee in which you would be called upon to explain yourself. 

I'll let you return to your hustle for campaign dollars from outside the district you supposedly represented.