Rand Paul's presidential campaign has requested that several television stations pull ads launched against him by a Republican operative that accuse him "of supporting President [Barack] Obama’s policies on Iran and of opposing new sanctions,"
BuzzFeed reported.
A letter from the Paul campaign's general counsel pushes back on
advertisements launched in a million-dollar buy by Rick Reed, who heads the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, BuzzFeed noted.
"The advertisement attempts to deceive voters regarding Sen. Rand Paul’s position on U.S.-Iran relations through at least three false statements," warned Paul's attorney, Matthew T. Sanderson, in an April 7 letter, BuzzFeed reported Thursday.
The letter tells station managers that they are "not protected from legal liability for airing false and misleading advertisements sponsored by FSPA," and urges them to stop airing them immediately.
Added Paul's campaign spokesman, Sergio Gor, in an email to BuzzFeed: "We believe the ad is misleading, inaccurate and false; i
n fact, PolitiFact rated it 'Mostly False.' We believe TV stations should be made aware of that."
The ads began airing on Tuesday,
according to The Washington Post.
The Post said of Paul's Iran record, which goes against views held by many Republicans: "Paul voted to impose sanctions on Iran and was one of 47 senators who signed a letter to the country's leaders over the negotiations, suggesting they could later be undone by Congress. Paul has said that he is for a negotiated deal and signed the letter to help Obama 'negotiate from a position of strength' by telling Iran that he has to deal with Congress. Paul has said he would have handled the situation differently as president and involved Congress."
The FSPA sent its own letter from Reed to station managers amid Paul's request to cut the ads, calling the Kentucky senator's legal claims "baseless."
It noted, according to BuzzFeed: "Senator Paul is free to run his own advertisements trying to explain why he said new sanctions against Iran would be a ‘huge mistake,’ why he told the 'Today' show he is ‘in favor of negotiations with Iran,’ and why he stated it is ‘ridiculous to think [the Iranian regime is] a threat to [American] national security. But it is not appropriate for his campaign to attempt to silence those who oppose his dangerous positions by making baseless threats against your station."