Wolf Campaign Apologizes for Staffer who Struck Feder Worker

Rep. Frank R. Wolf's campaign is apologizing this morning for the actions of a congressional staffer, who apparently struck a campaign worker for opponent Judy Feder after a candidate's forum in Winchester Friday. The incident was caught on tape and posted on the blog www.raisingkaine.com last night by Feder's paid blogger, Lowell Feld.

According to both camps, the two Feder staffers, one carrying a video camera, approached Wolf and peppered him with questions. Dan Scandling, Wolf's campaign spokesman, said the two workers had been "circling" Wolf, his wife Carolyn and congressional staffer Ben Dutton, and asking aggressive questions in an attempt to provoke an angry response.





Marisa McNee, a Feder spokeswoman, acknowledged that Matt Kent and Josh Goodman, both paid campaign workers, were "a little aggressive" but generally polite in their questioning.

At one point in the video, as Kent asks Wolf a question, the camera abruptly shakes and the videographer shouts, "Sir, please don't!" This is the moment at which both camps say Dutton struck Kent. Though you can't see it, both camps say it was with a cane.

Scandling said Dutton, an 83-year-old former Winchester town councilman, felt that Carolyn Wolf "was being threatened" and responded in a "knee-jerk" way.

McNee said Dutton struck Kent a second time, and there is another abrupt shake later in the tape that could corroborate this. Scandling denies this. He said the events transpired behind Wolf's back and that Wolf did not witness anything.

"The campaign apologizes if Ben used poor judgment and hit him with his cane," Scandling said. But he said the reaction was "provoked." The two Feder staffers had been egging him on with questions like, "How does it feel to be in the real Virginia?" Scandling said.

McNee, however, said that Kent and Goodman were trying to nail down Wolf on his position on health care. Moreover, she said, nothing justifies physical violence. She said the two campaign workers, who also approached Wolf at an event in McLean on Saturday, are considering whether to file a complaint with the police. Neither was injured.

