Gov. Dannel Malloy intends to file a protective order against a fellow Democrat who is suing him for alleged slander, according to court documents.
The records show the governor will be filing a motion for the protective order against U.S. Senate candidate Lisa "Lee" Whitnum on Tuesday in Stamford Superior Court.
“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 Whitnum’s baseless and improper discovery requests in a civil case," Andrew Doba, director of communications for Malloy, said.
Whitnum filed a slander lawsuit against Malloy in May 2010 before he was governor and claims that Malloy was wrong to call comments she made anti-Semitic.
Whitnum had repeatedly criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the billions of dollars of U.S. aid to Israel, but said she hadn't spoken disparagingly about any religious group.
Malloy's comments came during the 2008 Democratic primary between Whitnum and now-Congressman Jim Himes.
During a news conference, Malloy, who is also a Democrat, said voters should support now-Congressman Jim Himes over Whitnum for the 4th Congressional District seat and accused her of making anti-Semitic remarks.
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"A couple of years ago, she made some statements that I then viewed — and continue to view — as anti-Semitic, and I called her out on it,'' Malloy told the Hartford Courant in 2010. "She obviously didn't like it.''
“The court recently ruled that Ms. Whitnum’s amended complaint was improper and knocked out her complaint in its entirety. Since Ms. Whitnum no longer has a civil complaint against the Governor, the Governor is not obligated to respond or object to Ms. Whitnum’s improper discovery requests," Doba said. “Ms. Whitnum has now had two unsuccessful bites at the apple in her attempt to maintain a complaint against the Governor. Her litigious conduct lacks merit and she has no claims against the Governor.”
