A lawyer for Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton said Friday that after receiving his cease- and-desist letters, radio stations in southern and western Colorado have removed ads calling the lawmaker “sneaky” and implying he broke ethics rules.
But the Democratic group behind the ads said they were taken down because they were scheduled to expire anyway, not because they were misleading.
The ads mention Tipton’s nephew, who owns a telecommunications company that contracts with a firm used by Tipton and many other members of Congress. The ad says, “That’s sneaky, Scott.”
Tipton’s lawyer, John Zakhem of Denver, said the ad is flawed because it claims Tipton “hired his nephew’s company to work for his congressional office.”
He said he wrote cease-and-desist letters to seven stations because of the “irresponsible and flat-out dishonest” ad.
Tipton’s aides have said there is nothing improper about using a firm for constituent service that contracts with his nephew’s company.
From Denver Post staff and wire reports
