When does political “spinning” of statements during an election rise to the level of actionable defamation?
Most courts take the view that when a person runs for public office, he puts his character in issue so far as it relates to his fitness and qualifications for office. Accordingly, the politician’s prior conduct and actions are often fair game for comment. But campaign ads are famous for spinning the truth and such “spinning” of the facts typically walks a fine line to being false. For example, in the recent Massachusetts race to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democratic Party sent a mailing letter out in opposition to the then Republic Candidate, Scott Brown. The ad stated “1,736 women were raped in Massachusetts in 2008. Scott Brown wants hospitals to turn them all away.” Did Scott Brown ever tell hospitals to turn raped women away? Probably not, but a reader of the four-page mailer might have taken the statement as a fact. In actuality, the ad was referring to an amendment that now U.S. Senator Scott Brown voted in favor of when he was in the Mass
