US Congressman Wants Reporter Sued Over Common Figure of Speech
Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar called for a local reporter to get sued after appearing to take a figure of speech in her article literally.
The Arizona Republic published an article on Saturday detailing Kelli Ward’s surprise victory over the weekend to become the Arizona GOP’s next chairwoman. Ward, who has mounted primary challenges from the right in past elections, is expected to take the state party in a more conservative direction ahead of the 2020 elections.
In the opening paragraph of the article, author Yvette Sanchez described Ward as a “bomb-throwing conservative.”
“Kelli Ward, the bomb-throwing conservative former state senator and loyalist to President Donald Trump, upended the race to lead the Arizona Republican Party by beating the establishment favorite and incumbent GOP chairman, Jonathan Lines,” the paragraph reads.
The phrase “bomb-throwing” is a widely used phrase in political media to describe harsh rhetoric or strongly-worded exchanges between individuals.
Nowhere in the article did Sanchez appear to suggest Ward had thrown actual bombs.
However, Gosar, a representative of Arizona’s 4th congressional district and a longtime Ward ally, accused Sanchez of defamation.
“Yvonne you defamed Kelli by accusing her in print of literally throwing bombs. Falsely accusing someone of a crime is defamation. You made no attempt to portray that as a metaphor but present it as fact. You should be sued. #fakenews,” Gosar tweeted Sunday.
@yvonnewingett @kelliwardaz Yvonne you defamed Kelli by accusing her in print of literally throwing bombs. Falsely accusing someone of a crime is defamation. You made no attempt to portray that as metaphor but present it as fact. You should be sued. #fakenews
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 27, 2019
Gosar’s office did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment, nor could Gosar’s office confirm to TheDCNF if the tweet was serious or made in jest.
The Republican lawmaker has attracted odd headlines in the past.
Six of his siblings openly endorsed Gosar’s Democratic opponent in the last election cycle. The siblings went so far as to star in an attack ad against Gosar in September.
The congressman, however, brushed off their criticism as “crazy” relatives who do not live Arizona, and he later tweeted that he would see them at “Mom and Dad’s house!”
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A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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