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A lawyer for The Guardian, who was knocked down by Greg Gianforte just before the Republican sat in the Montana House of Representatives, warned that his client could challenge the settlement of the case by lawmaker Gianforte continuing to lie about the incident.
In recent comments to the Missoulian newspaper, Gianforte appeared to contradict his own confession, which was part of a plea agreement he had reached when he had been charged with assault. He told The Missoulian last week that journalist Ben Jacobs had initiated the fight.
Jacobs' lawyer, Geoffrey Genth, demanded in a letter from Politico on Wednesday that Gianforte "immediately put an end to any false and / or defamatory statements about Ben or his dealings with Ben".
In a controversial comment last week at a campaign rally in Montana, President Donald Trump hailed Gianforte as "my guy" for snapping his body at Jacobs last year after the reporter asked him about health care. Several people heard the confrontation and Gianforte's cries of anger when he attacked Jacobs were captured on an audio tape (see above).
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Gianforte pleaded guilty to assault, paid a fine and was sentenced to collective work and anger management classes. He also apologized to Jacobs and donated $ 50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists in exchange for the journalist's agreement not to sue. This could now be compromised.
In an interview with The Missoulian last week, Gianforte was asked why he had first lied about the incident saying that Jacobs had attacked him first. According to the newspaper, Gianforte did not acknowledge that he had misrepresented what had happened, stating, "The statement I gave was for me a memory of what had happened."
He also said that he was bound by the settlement agreement to not talk about the details of the assault, which is not true, according to Genth. The lawyer accused Gianforte of misleading the "press and the electorate" about his ability to answer questions pertaining to his candidacy. "
Genth's letter to Gianforte's lawyer, William Mercer, included a copy of the legislator's signed letter of adhesion to Jacobs that he had attacked the journalist. It is written, "You have not made any physical contact with me and I have no right to attack. I did not have the right to answer as I did to your legitimate question about health policy. You did your job. "
Genth said that "Gianforte's continuing lie is unacceptable and punishable".
In his letter to Mercer, he concluded: "Please inform your client that he and his spokespeople must stop lying about the assault – immediately and forever – [and] Regarding the settlement agreement of your client … Ben reserves all rights, including the right to request the resolution "of the settlement.
Gianforte's office did not immediately respond to HuffPost's request for comment.
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