Washington lobbyist Vicki Iseman is suing The New York Times for implicating her in a romantic affair with 2008 Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
 
In a 36-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., on Tuesday, Iseman’s lawyers say the newspaper defamed her and is asking for $27 million in damages. The complaint names The New York Times Co.; Bill Keller, the newspaper’s executive editor; Dean Baquet, the Washington bureau chief; and the four reporters who worked on the article that suggested the romantic affair.
 

The Times said Tuesday that the Feb. 21 article is accurate.
 
“We fully stand behind the article. We continue to believe it to be true and accurate, and that we will prevail,” said Abbe Ruttenberg Serphos, director of public relations for The Times, in a statement. “As we said at the time, it was an important piece that raised questions about a presidential contender and the perception that he had been engaged in conflicts of interest.[snip]

The complaint details much of the outside criticism of the article. It quotes extensively from a column by the newspaper’s public editor, Clark Hoyt, who said “if a newspaper is going to suggest an improper sexual affair, whether editors think that is the central point or not, it owes readers more proof than The Times was able to provide.”