COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Gov. Nikki Haley's legal team is taking aim at a Columbia-based political blogger as her private attorneys are representing the Sikh Temple in a lawsuit claiming the blog printed lies about the church and the governor.
The suit centers around rumors of IRS indictments the blog claimed were coming down against Haley.
Haley went public last Friday to answer questions about her ethics investigation and the IRS indictment rumor that started 2 months ago.
"But, I'm sorry. For all those people that are hoping to find something, it's like the IRS indictment, it's not there. If it was there I would tell you. If it was there, the courts would have found it. If it was there, the Ethics Committee would have found it. If it was there, there would have been some smoking gun and there's nothing," Haley said.
The rumor started on Palmetto Public Record, started by a former WIS employee, Logan Smith.
On March 29, Smith published a report claiming two unidentified legal sources told him Haley would soon be charged by federal agents. The State newspaper picked up the story, and within hours, the rumor went national. The IRS denied the claim the next day.
The governor would then go on to attack the newspaper for posting the story.
Haley's personal attorney, Butch Bowers filed the suit on behalf of the Sikh Religious Society of South Carolina. The non-profit operates a temple on Broad River Road where Haley's parents serve as president and vice president.
Smith's blog claimed the non-profit engaged in "shady" finances and that money had gone "missing." The suit claims those statements were "absolutely false." Haley denies any involvement in the lawsuit.
"I'm governor now. Whether people like it or not, let me do my job. All this political mess is just getting in the way of letting me do my job," Haley said.
Smith issued this statement Tuesday: "At this point, I won't be giving any comment on the record."
Haley declined an on-camera interview, but issued a statement saying, "The governor applauds any private citizen who is willing to stand up to bloggers, their anonymous sources and those who fund them and hopes more people will do the same."
The suit claims the Sikh Society has suffered from this and is looking for a court to award damages and attorneys fees.
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