August
2006
Sullivan Should sue Dohnal for his Shameful Distortions
With all of the lies and distortions that have become nearly prevalent in politics in the past few years, there doesn't appear to be a case that is more clear cut than the one of GOP activist and State Senator Tom Reynolds booster Bob Dohnal should have filed against him.
Dohnal tried to claim that State Senate candidate Jim Sullivan voted twice — a case he made 6 years ago that the District Attorney threw out for lack of merit. At that time, Sullivan's attorney, Michael Hart, sent a letter to Dohnal via process server that alerted Dohnal that the information Dohnal and company were allegedly propagating was bogus. Enclosed with that letter was a letter from an Assistant District Attorney that discredited the manufactured claim that Sullivan voted twice in an election — once in Whitefish Bay and once in Wauwatosa.
Dohnal received the information that explained that James Owen Sullivan Sr lived in Whitefish Bay while James Owen Sullivan Jr lived in Wauwatosa. It was clear then that the horrible double voting that activist Michael Goggins alleged was untrue. Covering all of his bases, Sullivan attorney Hart also sent a copy to Dohnal alerting him to the bogus claim and pointing out that he would be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law should he continue to propagate the bogus story.
Fast forward 6 years and Dohnal has taken to the blogosphere to do what — to propogate the same story he knew had no merit 6 years earlier.
Sullivan should hold Dohnal accountable. He should rehire Michael Hart and go after Bob Dohnal's personal assets. There has to be some repercussions for doing what Dohnal has done. It is reprehensible. It is immoral. It is an unequivacal lie. Dohnal knew that if the story came out, regardless of the fact that it was meritless, a few voters would simply remember the accusation and that may be enough to tip the scales in Tom Reynolds favor. Dohnal has gotten the ink that he believes he deserved but if there is any justice in the world, Sullivan will sue him for defamation of character to start.
Dohnal is clearly an unsavory character who will stop at nothing and will say anything to achieve his partisan goals. But also important is the company that Dohnal's pal and the beneficiary of the Dohnal smear, State Senator Tom Reynolds, chooses to keep. Although Dohnal clearly flaunted his partisan interests above the law and decided that impuning the integrity of Sullivan would be more fun than telling the truth, Dohnal is not the only character that Reynolds has kept close. Take the case of Pastor Ralph Ovadahl. Watchdog Milwaukee broke the story (which both Spivak and Bice as well as talk show host Charlie Sykes followed up on) of how Reynolds' personal printing business does the print work for Ovadahl who called Pope John Paul II a "Minister of Satan" — a claim that doesn't go over too well with Catholics (myself included).
Reynolds has also hired GOP flack JJ Blonien for his campaign. There's an even deeper rub there; while Blonien is a well known integrity assassin, he's working on the Reynolds campaign in what appears to be the same financial reporting period that he's drawing a paycheck from the state. He's not required to report into the office, apparently, so it looks terribly suspicious that he's getting paid by the state to work on Reynolds campaign. Reynolds needs to realize that having the state pay for employees to work on your campaign is the same thing that led to the felony conviction of former Republican Assembly Leader Scott Jensen.
Dohnal's actions are an embarassment to the Wisconsin political landscape. Wisconsin, once a haven for clean elections, is worse off for having suffered the distortions of Dohnal as well as his partner in crime, Stan Zurawski. It was Zurawski who sent the document which was clearly doctored to the GOP blogger Owen Robinson, who publishes Boots and Sabers.
Zurawski is best known for his anti-porn crusade at Mayfair Mall where he's apparently upset that the panty and bra clad manequins are too realistic. He is another of Wauwatosa's character assassins who heads up Tosans for Responsible Government (a CRG affiliate) and has run 2 or 3 campaigns for Mayor in Tosa by focusing on how much he can impune his opponents. Fortunately, Tosa residents were too smart for Zurawski and they turned him and his rhetoric back each and every time.
Wisconsin would benefit from a successful lawsuit which held Dohnal accountable for his reprehensible actions. A message has to be sent that this sort of deception from Dohnal, or for that matter anyone who pulls similar dishonest stunts, should not be tolerated. Like a child behaving badly who deserves a spanking, Dohnal needs to be held accountable for his actions and there needs to be lasting and severe repercussions.
When actions like those taken by Dohnal are allowed to go unchecked, out political system is worse off and civility in our political discourse has been compromised.
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Jim McGuigan
Jim McGuigan, Reynolds Watch, Watchdogging Campaigns
Agreed, Sullivan should sue under the libel tort. It appears that Donahl would be hard-pressed to prove that his actions did not meet the test for malice. Because he had notification that the allegations were untrue, he will not be able to simply say he was negligent and then retract it.
The other elements of the tort – that it was untrue, that it defames Sullivan, that Donahl in fact proclaimed the falsity, and that he then published or distributed the lie – all seem met.
Owen at Boots and Sabres: I’d advise that you get that post down from your site as soon as possible and print a correction. Don’t let Boots and Sabres get dragged into whatever games Donahl and Zurawski are playing. Cover your bases here – You don’t want to be held liable for being party to their libel.
I find it interesting that none of Bob Dohnal’s claims/accusations have been posted on his own website.
Is there a possibility that he had Zurawski float the email to the blogosphere with the intention that others would accept this at face value and carry his water for him; thereby skirting the legal repercussions. After all, he did gloat about the “free publicity” with a post on the original thread.
Idle speculation ya think?
It’s still posted at Boots and Sabres, in the face of evidence and links to show its falsity posted at the site by Jim McGuigan and Bill Christofferson. This moves the libel from simple negligence into the area of gross negligence and malice.
The original thread by Owen is a note about Donovan Riley allegedly voting in Illinois and in Wisconsin in the 2000 presidential elections. Donahl then chimes in with his libelous comment about Jim Sullivan.
So Donahl said it, Boots and Sabres let it stand, which makes them both liable on proclamation.
Boots published it online, Donahl submitted the comment so that it would be published and read by as many people as possible. This makes them both liable on publication, although, yes, Owen at Boots has the responsibility – in his own best interest and to protect Donahl from himself – to comply with the law.
The longer Owen leaves it up there, the better Sullivan’s case is against both of them. And it’s already airtight.
Of course “it” is not airtight…
Take another history class and use a bit of common sense. There is no case, and there will certainly NOT be any ‘libel tort’. Anyone with half a brain will conclude that if this is libel worthy, we will not even get to an election because all the candidates will be in court! DUH! Do yourself a favor and allow the politico’s like Donahl and Blonien waste time by accusing Sullivan of double voting; it will only hurt them in the end. And by ‘them’, I don’t mean Reynolds. To suggest that Blonien and Donahl are running the show is ignorant. Reynolds, or any candidate for that manner, exercises control over their own race. Remember, Reynolds has already won in the district once, and he happily wears his defeats as well as his victories in the open. In other words, there is no secret to his success; he simply does what he believes is right. And well over 50% of his district is happy with his results. Is he really trying to hurt Sullivan by accusing him of double voting? Maybe. Why should we even care is the bigger question.