Gloria Allred’s Open Letter To Shock Jock Rush Limbaugh On San Diego Mayor Bob Filner -- 'You Told A Bold Faced Lie… To Fit Your Right Wing Political Agenda'
Aug. 13 2013, Published 7:39 a.m. ET
Powerhouse attorney Gloria Allred calls out Rush Limbaugh for his controversial statements about San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, claiming the radio personality fibbed for the sake of politics in saying that feminists were going on easy on the embattled Democrat politician.
OPEN LETTER TO RUSH LIMBAUGH FROM GLORIA ALLRED
Dear Rush,
Last week on August 7, 2013, on your radio program you discussed the Mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner and his sexual harassment of women. You stated "What this Mayor in San Diego has been doing. It is just jaw dropping."
Rush, what you then went on to say on your show shortly after that was also a jaw dropping and some of it, is in fact, an outright lie. For example, you criticized feminists and suggested that we are not responding to Filner's abuse and suggested that the reason feminists were not responding was because Filner is a democrat.
You stated "The response by all the usual suspects to this Mayor, his name is Filner, is nothing. There is no response. Gloria Allred's not doing anything. Nothing. And this is a war on women. This is how it happens. This is real discrimination against women. This is real abuse of women. This is objectifying them, treating them like second class citizens. This is it. This is what the feminazi's having been teaching against forever, and they ignore it. Because the guy is a good democrat and above all else the party and the movement must be saved. In fact more than saved, not even harmed. You compare this, this is actual abuse, this is actual discrimination, text book discrimination, text book abuse and there is not one reaction of note anywhere."
Rush, with all due respect, do you read the news or do you just choose to ignore what you read or choose to lie about what you read?
I am the lawyer who filed the sex harassment lawsuit on behalf of my client, Irene McCormack Jackson, against the Mayor on July 22, 2013. I held an extremely well covered news conference to announce it. To date it is the only sex harassment lawsuit filed against the Mayor. It was all over the news. Also at the same news conference with Irene on July 22, 2013, two weeks before your radio broadcast in which you said I was doing nothing, I criticized the Mayor and called on him to resign. I stated "No, Mr. Mayor, you do not need help. What you need is to resign immediately. You have disgraced yourself and the office that you hold."
Further, the very day before your radio show in which you stated that I was not doing anything, I held a second news conference (August 6, 2013) criticizing the Mayor on behalf of my client Michele Tyler, who alleged that she was also the victim of inappropriate sexual comments and behavior by the Mayor when she went to him to seek help for an injured U.S. Marine, Katherine Ragazzino who is having difficulty in getting the help that she needs from the Veteran's Administration. I urged the San Diego City Attorney's office to open an investigation into Ms. Tyler's allegations about the Mayor, and I sent a letter to the City Attorney urging that investigation.
Further, I went with Irene to meet with the San Diego Sheriff's investigators on August 5, 2013 for more than two hours (also covered by the press), and in addition, I accompanied Michelle and Katherine to a meeting with the Sheriff's investigators on August 6, 2013 for more than two hours. The press covered the fact that I went to both meetings and that I urged all victims to contact the Sheriff's hotline with any relevant information about the Mayor.
Rush, in light of all of this, would I be wrong if I concluded that you knew all of this but chose to tell a bold faced lie about me to fit your own right wing political agenda saying that feminists only criticize Republicans?
In the alternative, should I conclude instead that you just don't do your homework and don't read the news or that you just can't read at all?
Rush, it is overdue for you to apologize to me and to many feminists like San Diego NOW who also called for the Mayor to resign well before your radio show. Will you apologize?
We can expect Rush to rush to judgment, but although I hope you will do the right thing, my guess is that your response will be to rush to silence rather than to "woman up" and issue an apology admitting that, once again, you have misrepresented the facts and misled your audience in order to advance your own reactionary political agenda.
Gloria Allred
Attorney at Law
August 13, 2013