Democratic congressional candidate Bob Brooks sent his Republican opponent and incumbent Ryan Mackenzie a cease-and-desist on Oct. 18 for a recent advertisement he considered “riddled with blatant lies.”
According to a statement from Benny Stanislawski, spokesperson for the Bob Brooks for Congress campaign, Mackenzie hasn’t complied. On Tuesday, Mackenzie for Congress sent Brooks’ team a cease-and-desist letter for the same reasoning.
Stanislawski released a statement on Oct. 19 regarding the reason for Brooks’ decision to drop out of the congressional debate against Mackenzie, which was originally planned for Oct. 21 at WFMZ-TV Studio.
“In total, (Brooks) has now declined five debates from September through mid-October,” an Instagram post by Mackenzie for Congress said.
Stanislawski’s statement said that Bob has focused on Mackenzie’s policy and he is “more than happy to debate ideas with Mackenzie any day of the week.”
But, because of Mackenzie’s refusal to comply with the cease-and-desist and his “unending defamatory rhetoric,” Brooks said he won’t give “a platform for Mackenzie to spread outright lies on television.”
Stanislawski’s statement said Brooks told WFMZ he is eager to participate in an interview, of the same length as the congressional debate was planned for, with Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.
It also lists Brooks’ “aggressive” press schedule during October and emphasizes the backing of his campaign.
“For months, Ryan Mackenzie has leveled outright lies against 20 year firefighter Bob Brooks that go completely outside of the bounds of acceptable campaign rhetoric,” Stanislawski’s statement said.
Stanislawski included a history of what the team considers defamation attempts in the statement:
“In the last month alone, Ryan Mackenzie and his campaign have orchestrated attempts to:
- Weaponize Trump’s Justice Department against (Brooks) and get a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney to investigate him over bogus claims, hosting a press conference at a local courthouse calling for (Brooks’) arrest (zero reporters showed up) and publicly begging for Bob to be politically prosecuted
- Spread heinous lies regarding (Brooks’) divorce from his first wife, the mother of his children with whom he maintains a strong friendship to this day and who backs his campaign
- Smear the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial that (Brooks) and the (Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association) have spent years fighting for in Harrisburg and recently broke ground
- Repeatedly malign (Brooks) every single day with false accusations and deceptive advertising, claiming baselessly that he is a criminal and a fraudster. (Brooks) is not a criminal, he is a 20-year firefighter and first responder, 30-year youth baseball coach, devoted husband, father, and grandfather.”
If Brooks planned to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Mackenzie, Chelsea Horne, assistant professor of media law and policy in the journalism department, said the burden of proof is primarily on the plaintiff, which in this case would be Brooks.
She said he would need to provide evidence that the defamatory content discussed is a statement of fact, was published and is of Brooks. She also said he would need to prove the content was defamatory, the focus of the statement was substantially false and the standard fault would need to be proven as actual malice.
She said Brooks would be responsible for proving the defamatory content caused harm to his reputation.
“Cease-and-desist letters are not necessarily legally binding, but they definitely could be used as evidence to support a defamation lawsuit in the future,” Horne said.
Horne said the case could be whether or not the statements made by the Mackenzie campaign are false, and both parties would have to make their case.
Arnaud Armstrong, communications director for the Mackenzie for Congress campaign, also released a statement on Oct 19.
“After ducking and dodging debates for months, Bob Brooks … has announced that he has pulled out of the only scheduled debate in one of the most closely-watched House races in the country,” Armstrong’s statement read.
Armstrong’s statement also said Brooks’ campaign has had many scandals recently, including “coverage of Brooks stealing from his family, cheating his workers and defrauding taxpayers.”
It also said the advertisement for which Brooks sent the cease-and-desist letter had already been running for around a month, and Brooks’ campaign chose to send the letter two days before the debate.
“To cover for Brooks’ desperate attempts to avoid accountability, his campaign pointed to a
phony cease-and-desist,” Armstrong’s statement said. “It’s obvious that Brooks’ cease-and-desist letter was a smokescreen for his pre-planned decision to withdraw from the debate.”
In another Oct. 19 press release from Armstrong titled “Bob Brooks calls his own son a liar,” he said Brooks accused his son of forging his work history to help him take down Mackenzie’s advertisement.
Armstrong’s statement said Brooks’ attorney sent the cease-and-desist letter to the two groups that ran the advertisement, Mackenzie for Congress Campaign and the National Republican Congressional Committee, on Oct. 18. The letter accuses the advertisement of containing false information.
“That ad — “Crooked Liberal”— criticizes Brooks for illegally withholding workers’ (compensation) coverage from employees at his lawn care business,” Armstrong’s statement said.
The advertisement references a Washington Free Beacon article published over the summer. Brooks didn’t provide a statement for this article.
In the cease-and-desist letter, Armstrong said Brooks’ attorney’s claim didn’t have evidence behind it.
The claim was that Brooks didn’t have employees when his workers’ compensation coverage lapsed. But, this claim doesn’t align with Brooks’ son’s resume, which is publicly available online as of Oct. 19, that says he was employed by Brooks Lawn Care at the time when Brooks didn’t provide workers’ compensation coverage.
According to Pennsylvania state law, “workers’ compensation insurance coverage is mandatory for all employers who have one or more employees, whether they’re part-time or full-time, including family members.”
“By claiming that he had no workers from November 30, 2017 to December 28, 2021, Bob Brooks is accusing his own son of lying,” Armstrong’s statement said.
Stanislawski’s statement called this a “disgraceful attack” on Brooks and his son.
Armstrong’s statement said Brooks’ son had made claims of success during his time at the company and they are now deleted, but his son still reports working there.
It said the court ruled Brooks stole from his family and was ordered to repay $130,000. The statement also said he didn’t repay this money and settled the case through “a secret agreement immediately after Mackenzie for Congress began airing ads about the case.”
“By claiming that he did not have any employees during the period in which he failed to purchase workers’ compensation coverage, Bob Brooks is calling his son a liar and accusing him of fabricating his resume,” said Mackenzie for Congress Campaign Manager Andres Weller. “(Brooks’) willingness to repeatedly betray his own family members is absolutely disgusting.”
Additionally, Armstrong’s statement said Brooks lied on an application for COVID-19 grant funds where he said he had no judgement against him. The statement said he actually had three judgments against him and that false statements on the application are punishable by law.
“If Bob Brooks doesn’t think he’s capable of debating, he’s not capable of being a member of Congress,” Weller said.
On Oct. 25, The Morning Call published a letter to the editors from Jennifer Kostenbader, Brooks’ ex-wife, called “I was married to Bob Brooks; Ryan Mackenzie’s attacks on him are untrue” siding with Brooks.
Kostenbader said she’s not a political person and never expected to have to write a public letter like this. She also said Mackenzie’s public claims about Brooks are “misleading, untrue and a complete distortion” of who Brooks is.
“Disagreeing on policy is fair,” Kostenbader said. “Attacking someone’s family is not. It is beneath the dignity of the office, and it’s a choice Mackenzie made instead of running on his own record. That says everything voters need to know about his leadership and his character.”
According to a statement released by Armstrong on Tuesday announcing Mackenzie for Congress sent a cease-and-desist letter to Brooks demanding retraction of an “obviously defamatory” advertisement “that is easily proven as false” that began airing on that day.
The advertisement claims Mackenzie didn’t support a bill to help grant first responders better mental health coverage.
The statement said a “cursory Google search” would show that Mackenzie did vote in support for this bill. It also said Mackenzie organized in support of first responders and the bill.
Brooks’ letter was sent almost two weeks after the advertisement started airing and Mackenzie’s letter was sent within hours of the advertisement airing.
“While Bob Brooks pulls out of debates and whines about ads from the Mackenzie campaign, he is knowingly publishing ads that make flagrantly defamatory claims. Bob Brooks’ casual willingness to lie to voters is once again on full display in the closing days of this campaign,” Mackenzie said for Congress campaign manager Andres Weller.
Both campaigns are demanding the other side to stop spreading defamatory claims and advertisements. The midterm election is now less than a week away.
U.S. President Trump posted on X on Thursday about the dispute.
“Ryan Mackenzie has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election,” Trump said.
The Brown and White will continue to report on this incident as it progresses.
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