It’s election season and there’s bound to be some mud-slinging.
But that does not mean those on the receiving end must remain silent in the face of lies and bullying.
In the past, the mud fight was limited to candidates — not the candidate’s family.
Attorney Michael Beltran, of Tampa-based Beltran Litigation, wrote a July 29 letter demanding Anthony Pedicini and the Committee to Expose Fake Republicans cease and desist from “further false and defamatory statements” regarding his client, Kristen Truong.
Truong is the wife of Talha “Tal” Siddique, one of two Republican candidates for the District 3 seat on the Manatee Board of County Commissioners.
Siddique is competing with Republican April Culbreath, who chairs the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee, in the Aug. 20 closed primary for the party’s nomination.
On the way, Siddique and his wife have become targets of the Committee to Expose Fake Republicans, a political action committee chaired by conservative political consultant Anthony Pedicini.
The PAC has released multiple advertisements attacking them as fake Republicans, including one that reads, “The Siddique’s are Bradenton’s most liberal couple — they just moved here. Shhhh! They’re bringing Joe Biden’s liberal D.C. policies with them.”
Another ad more specifically attacks Truong, stating that “Never Trump Tal Siddique has a direct connection to the Clintons — his wife!”
Beltran shot down the claims in a cease-and-desist letter, calling them false and defamatory.
“Fake Republicans’ mailings and text communications are replete with falsehoods, misrepresentations, and doctored graphics with no other purpose than to mislead readers and damage Ms. Truong’s reputation,” he wrote.
While one ad claims the Siddiques “just moved” to Manatee County, Beltran clarifies that Truong was born and raised in the county, and has maintained residency in the county throughout her youth and adulthood.
“Although she had a presence in Washington at one point, she never abandoned Manatee County,” Beltran wrote.
As for the claims that Truong is a fake Republican, he noted that she has been a registered Republican since she was 18 years old and “has never been a Democrat.”
Beltran also pushed back against the PAC’s claims that his client has connections to the Clintons and called out a doctored photo of the Siddiques standing alongside Bill and Hillary Clinton.
“Ms. Truong has never met or spoken to ‘the Clintons,’ and certainly lacks any ‘direct connection,’” he wrote. “Fake Republicans intentionally and knowingly photoshopped Ms. Truong with the Clintons.”
Beltran called upon the PAC to issue “full and fair” corrections, apologies and retractions related to its claims against Truong and threatened litigation.
“To avoid any liability, we recommend that Fake Republicans, Pedicini, and any clients or agents thereof refrain from any remarks regarding Ms. Truong or her husband until no earlier than August 21, 2024,” he wrote.
That would follow the vote in the closed Republican primary, the winner of which will go on to face Democrat Diana Shoemaker and write-in candidate Jeffrey Gray in the Nov. 5 general election.
Attorney Ricardo Reyes of Boca Raton-based Tobin Reyes responded in a July 31 letter to Beltran.
Reyes wrote that “no retraction, correction or apology appears to be warranted” and claimed Beltran’s threat of litigation was a “clear attempt to silence political speech.”
Reyes called into question Siddique’s registration as a Democrat in 2019-2020, Truong’s position as vice president of public affairs for Capitol Hill Partners and her time as a registered lobbyist for Results for America.
Siddique changed his registration to the Republican Party in 2021.
Capitol Hill Partners is a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm whose top staff includes Leander Foley III, an adviser to the Carter Administration, and John Colbert, a senior official in the Clinton Administration.
Results for America is a Washington, D.C.-based policy advocacy group that works with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress to “harness the power of evidence and data,” according to its website, results4america.org.
Truong emailed a reply Aug. 3 to The Islander, which states: “I am and have always been registered as a Republican in Manatee County. I have maintained my residency in Manatee County continuously since I was born. There is no “direct” connection between me and the Clintons, and the response letter from Mr. Reyes does not dispute the same. Lastly, the photographs in the text are not authentic. None of the inquiries are directed towards these matters. Mr. Reyes does not dispute these matters in the response.”
