WASHINGTON — Virginia GOP congressional candidate Derrick Anderson has issued a cease-and-desist order to his Democratic opponent, Eugene Vindman, over marketing campaign advertisements accusing Anderson of attempting to move off another person’s spouse and three daughters as his circle of relatives.
Anderson, who’s single and has no youngsters, made nationwide headlines in September after The New York Occasions flagged that his marketing campaign was utilizing footage of him posing with the lady and kids in what might simply be mistaken for a household picture shoot, besides it turned out to be a buddy’s household.
One video that includes Anderson with the lady and women was shared on Anderson’s YouTube channel and posted on a web site paid for by the Nationwide Republican Marketing campaign Committee. In a separate video his marketing campaign filmed for a attainable advert, Anderson is proven sitting round a eating room desk with the identical girl and women.
Anderson’s marketing campaign advised HuffPost in September that this footage was merely him showing in “a normal campaign video with female supporters and their kids.”
However within the remaining days of this election cycle, Vindman and Democratic teams are working a barrage of marketing campaign advertisements accusing Anderson, who reportedly lives along with his canine and is engaged, of attempting to present voters the impression that he’s a household man. And Anderson’s marketing campaign responded with a cease-and-desist letter, saying on Monday that Vindman and native TV stations don’t have the fitting to air pictures of the household seen in Anderson’s movies.
HuffPost obtained a replica of the letter, which identifies this household as Ashley Cremisio and her three daughters.
“This letter is to serve as written notice to your station that Vindman for Congress did not obtain the permission of Mrs. Cremisio to use her image or the permission of Mr. or Mrs. Cremisio on behalf of her three minor daughters, to use their images in their advertisement,” learn the letter.
“Furthermore, Mr. and Mrs. Cremisio would never have granted Vindman for Congress permission to do so given the manufactured and false narrative around the image,” it stated. “In light of this unauthorized use, we are writing to request that your station remove this advertisement from your airwaves immediately to prevent further harm and distress to Mrs. Cremisio and her daughters.”
Right here’s a replica of the letter, signed by a marketing campaign adviser:
The advertisements hitting Anderson over his “fake family” vary from severe to comical.
A Vindman advert referred to as “What Is Real” flashes a picture of Anderson with this household as ominous narration says the Republican candidate “got caught lying again, faking a family.”
And in a single hilarious advert — paid for by a Democratic political motion committee, the Home Majority PAC — an Anderson look-alike arrives dwelling from work to hang around with cardboard cutouts of the household.
“Ready, sweetie?” says the Anderson look-alike, tossing a Frisbee-like toy at a cutout of one of many women and watching because the disc falls to the bottom. This advert, referred to as “Fake,” warns that the Republican candidate is attempting to idiot individuals about plenty of issues, together with his excessive views in opposition to abortion.
Vindman has made defending abortion rights a central concern in his marketing campaign. Anderson, in contrast, celebrated the Supreme Courtroom overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide, and has stated he helps leaving ladies’s entry to reproductive well being care as much as particular person states to resolve.
The issue with the Anderson marketing campaign’s cease-and-desist letter is that the photographs of him with the lady and kids are nonetheless publicly obtainable on the Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee’s so-called pink field web site, the place campaigns publish supplies obtainable for tremendous PACs to choose up and use in advertisements.
In different phrases, Anderson is claiming Vindman can’t use these pictures in political advertisements on the similar the NRCC is making them obtainable to be used in political advertisements.
Anderson’s marketing campaign stated in a Thursday assertion that Vindman is unfairly utilizing the lady and kids to “lie” to voters about who they’re.
“Vindman’s been using a mother and her underage daughters in our district to lie to voters for weeks, and he’s arguing legal technicalities to far-left media outlets? That’s very telling, and very gross,” learn the assertion. “He’s ginning up false attacks to avoid talking about lying about his military background, his shady business dealings, and his support for open borders, higher costs, and far-left party politics.”
The marketing campaign additionally emphasised that Anderson has by no means claimed that the lady and kids have been his household, and that their pictures have been by no means utilized in any pro-Anderson marketing campaign advertisements (besides Anderson shared the video of him with this household on his YouTube channel, and the opposite video of him sitting on the eating room desk with this household continues to be publicly obtainable to be used on the NRCC’s web site).
Anderson’s marketing campaign didn’t reply to a query about why Vindman wouldn’t have permission to make use of pictures of this household in his political advertisements when the NRCC continues to be making them obtainable to be used in political advertisements.
Vindman’s marketing campaign didn’t reply to a request for remark in regards to the cease-and-desist letter.
Past his advertisements, Vindman has been making cracks about Anderson’s “fake family” on the marketing campaign path. At a latest rally within the Virginian city of Dumfries, he reportedly introduced up his “real wife” and “real kids” to laughs within the crowd.
Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee
Vindman’s title may sound acquainted. His twin brother, retired Military Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, made worldwide headlines in 2019 when he testified throughout then-President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry hearings about his shady dealings with Ukraine. Each Vindmans have been whistleblowers amid these hearings, and Trump ended up firing each of them from their authorities jobs.
Anderson has aligned himself with Trump, who endorsed him Wednesday.
“Derrick is America First all the way, and he is running against a weak and pathetic Democrat named Yevgeny ‘Eugene’ Vindman who, along with [California Democratic Rep.] Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff and others, lied to push the Ukraine Impeachment Hoax, a continuation of the greatest and most dangerous Political WITCH HUNT in the History of our Country!” Trump wrote on social media.
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“Derrick Anderson has my Complete and Total Endorsement – HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” he stated.
Anderson and Vindman are working to signify Virginia’s seventh Congressional District. Each are new to politics, each are attorneys and each have army backgrounds: Anderson is a former Inexperienced Beret who accomplished 5 deployments, whereas Vindman is a former Military colonel who served for 25 years.
They’re competing for the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who’s working for governor. It’s a good race: The Cook dinner Political Report ranks this seat as a “Democrat Toss Up.” Vindman is main by 2 factors in the latest ballot on this district, in keeping with polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.
