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GREENWICH, Conn. Gov. Dannel Malloy has asked for a protective order against fellow Democrat Lee Whitnum of Greenwich in response to a slander lawsuit she filed against him. Whitnum claims the governor called comments she made during her U.S. House bid anti-Semitic.
The motion filed yesterday was for a protective order, but the term is being misinterpreted by some as being akin to a restraining order, which this is not. Yesterday's motion was filed to ensure that the governor does not have to respond to Lee Whitnums baseless and improper discovery requests in a civil case, Andrew Doba, Malloys director of communications, said in a statement regarding the order filed Monday. It would limit Whitnum's ability to access information and documents from the governor.
Whitnum filed the slander lawsuit against Malloy in May 2010 in response to remarks he made during the 2008 Democratic primary between Whitnum and now-U.S. Rep. Jim Himes. According to court documents linked on her website, Whitnum claimed Malloy described her views as anti-Semitic and presented "deliberate lies and misquotes" of Whitnum's positions during a press conference Aug. 11, 2008.
Whitnum is representing herself in the suit. Doba said the courts recently ruled Whitnums complaint was improper and knocked out her complaint in its entirety," though the lawsuit is still pending. Malloy says he is not obligated to respond or object to further discovery requests Whitnum makes in her lawsuit.
Ms. Whitnum has now had two unsuccessful bites at the apple in her attempt to maintain a complaint against the governor, said Doba. Her litigious conduct lacks merit and she has no claims against the governor.
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