RALEIGH — Following a threat of legal action over an ad run by Josh Stein’s campaign for governor, lawyers for both Stein and Mark Robinson’s campaign have engaged in a back and forth sparring match.
The Elias Law Group, headed up by Democratic fixer Marc Elias, issued a six-page response to the Robinson camp’s request for removal of an ad about “Precious Beginnings,” a child care center run by Robinson’s wife.
The letter, obtained by North State Journal, defends the ad’s claims as truthful, based on state documents and inspections.
“DCDEE reports show that Precious Beginnings was cited for (1) failing to wash childrens’ (sic) hands with soap and water after diaper changes; (2) failing to keep the walls and ceilings clean and in good repair; (3) failing to properly handle, store or clean and sanitize beds, cots, and mats between users.” the Stein letter reads.
.@MarkRobinsonNC and his wife operated a child care center that endangered children and was unsanitary. If this is how he cared for children, how can we trust him to care for our state? pic.twitter.com/1V9D59Gu0r
— Josh Stein (@JoshStein_) July 30, 2024
Stein’s lawyers also defended the ad’s claim that the daycare operated “at times without lights, heat or running water,” based on a complaint to the state agency.
The response from Stein’s campaign lawyer also refuted claims that Stein was indicted or charged with a crime that involved past charges being brought over false claims in a previous Stein ad, calling these statements “false and libelous.”
The letter argues that Robinson, as a public figure, would need to prove “actual malice” to make a defamation claim, which they assert he cannot do. Stein’s lawyers conclude by stating: “The threatened defamation claim has no merit.”
The firm representing the Robinson campaign fired back, addressing the past charges against Stein involving a false advertisement.
“Strangely (for someone desperately trying to defend Stein’s lies) you note in your letter that Stein’s history of running false and misleading ads is, to quote you, ‘well-known in the political circles…and the legal community.’ In light of Stein’s troubling history of dishonesty, it is hard to take seriously the next six pages of your legal caterwauling,” wrote Robinson attorneys Charles Spies and Benjamin Mehr of Dickson Wright PLLC.
Robinson’s attorneys went on to state, “Of course, if someone does make it to page five of your letter, it is there that you concede that the images in the advertisement are fake, or as you euphemistically state, are ‘the common artistic technique of dramatic visualization.’ North Carolina voters deserve better than dishonest ‘dramatic visualizations’ from a dishonest politician who has been previously investigated by a prosecutor from his own party for false attacks against his political opponent.”
Spies and Mehr close out their response to Stein’s lawyers by reiterating their cease-and-desist request that the ad be taken down.
As of Aug. 6, the ad remains pinned to Stein’s campaign page on the social media platform X.
