Washington – Donald Trump’s company released a cease-and-desist letter Tuesday demanding that a conservative group stop running a political attack ad against Trump or face “a multi-million dollar lawsuit.”
Trump’s attorney Alan Garten wrote in a letter dated Monday to the Club For Growth that the group’s ad slamming Trump for supporting higher taxes, national health care and bailing out Wall Street is “not only completely disingenuous, but replete with outright lies, false, defamatory, and destructive statements and downright fabrications.”
In a statement emailed to CNN, Trump blasted the group.
“I am not surprised the dishonest, irrelevant and totally failing Club for Growth has resorted to attacking the definitive front runner, especially after I refused to contribute to their pathetic group. We will be releasing my current tax proposal, which is a major decrease in taxes, in the next week and will continue to expose the two faced hypocrisy of the Club for Growth and the problems groups like this perpetuate within a broken Washington, D.C.,” Trump said in an emailed statement.
The group’s political arm launched two 30-second spots last week for broadcast in Iowa with a $1 million backing.
The Trump campaign is taking issue with an ad entitled “Politician,” which asks “which presidential candidate supports higher taxes, national healthcare and the Wall Street Bailout? It’s Donald Trump.” The ad also features a clip of Trump saying in 2004 that “in many cases I probably identify more as a Democrat.”
While Trump previously voiced his support for a Canadian-style single-payer healthcare system and supported a one-time 14.25% tax increase on the wealthiest Americans, Trump has not run on that platform as a presidential candidate in the 2016 race.
“Mr. Trump does not support higher taxes. This is the very definition of libel,” Garten writes in the letter.
The Club for Growth defended its spots in a statement Tuesday that he has backed higher taxes “numerous times over many years”, though it did not address whether he still did today.
“Trump’s own statements prove that our ads are accurate. They will continue to run. We suggest that Donald grow up, stop whining, and try to defend his liberal record,” said David McIntosh, the group’s president.
Trump and The Club for Growth have feuded since Trump launched his campaign when the fiscally conservative group came out strongly against Trump’s candidacy.
As reported by CNN