O'Donnell campaign threatened to sue Delaware radio station

By Matt DeLong

Christine O'Donnell's Senate campaign has apologized to a Delaware radio station for threatening to sue if the station did not destroy videotapes of an interview with the candidate, the station reported Wednesday.

During the interview, which was broadcast live and streamed on the Web on Tuesday, the Delaware Republican candidate and tea party favorite "answered a variety of questions from listeners as well as the host," according to the station, WDEL.

At the conclusion of the interview, a representative from the campaign who had been in the broadcast studio with O'Donnell asked that the video be turned over to the campaign and not released. He stated that the videotaping had not been approved by the O'Donnell campaign.

O'Donnell also told show host Rick Jensen that she would sue the radio station if the video was released. [...]

O'Donnell's campaign manager, Matt Moran, called WDEL and demanded that the video be immediately turned over to the campaign and destroyed. Moran threatened to "crush WDEL" with a lawsuit if the station didn't comply.

The station reported that an attorney representing the O'Donnell campaign contacted WDEL's law firm "to apologize for charges made by their campaign manager. The attorney agreed that there was no legal issue with the video and expressed regret for the incident."

After stunning the GOP establishment with her primary win over longtime Rep. Mike Castle (R-Delaware) in September, O'Donnell has been besieged by controversy. According to RealClearPolitics, O'Donnell trails Democrat Chris Coons by double digits in recent major polls.